Broken Angels
by Loriela
Summary: The summer has been harsh. Especially on two enemies. Draco and Hermione finally learn how to see eye to eye as Head Boy and Head Girl. Occasional spoilers for 6th book.
1. An interesting meeting

(A/N: This story is rated T (for teen, not troll) for language, and mention of abuse. This is my first HP fanfic, although I am an obsessive over the books. Enjoy! Thanks go to A.N.L. for being my BETA!)

(OH Yeah, Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, etc. They all belong to J. K. Rowling, except for the poetry, which I wrote, and the quotes from Romeo and Juliet, which belong to whomever gets royalties for Shakespeare's works.)

Hermione Granger walked slowly along the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾. She walked, hair framing her face, aware of the odd looks and whispers following her. She boarded the train, lugging her trunk behind her. Her entire outfit was black, long black skirt that met shiny black high-heeled boots at her ankles, and a baggy long-sleeved shirt, which she wore, sleeves down, despite the 90(F) weather. Her hair, which had been brown and bushy the last year, was now black and rigidly straight. Hermione dragged her trunk into an empty compartment at the back of the train, where she collapsed against the seat with a sigh. She leaned her head back against the seat's worn leather cover, warmed by the afternoon sun, as waves of exhaustion hit her. She had not slept much the past night.

Hermione pulled a pen and a spiral notebook out of her black purse, which lay on the seat beside her. She sat thinking for a minute, tapping the pen on the spiral's cover, before opening it and beginning to write.

_/Her hair a dark curtain over her eyes_

_Hiding the pain that therein lies_

_Hidden in shadows, night is her cloak_

_Remembering sadly the day her life broke_

_Watching innocence be stolen away_

_Night after night, day after day_

_There was once a day when she was mama's girl_

_And her hair was soft, brown with curls_

_But that day was quite long ago_

_Now mama's grave's covered with snow_

_That was the day she truly let go of this world_

_Dyed her hair black, let it grow long, _

_To help hide the bruises her daddy unfurled_

_A result of the alcohol, of which he was fond_

_Her friends will wonder how much she's changed_

_But she knows secrecy's the name of the game_

_They could never understand her internal pain_

_And it would take too much effort to explain_

_She lets herself drift away from the world_

_No one to care about this broken girl_

_And she falls_

_Hard and fast, she doesn't even scream_

_Fallen Angel, or so it seems. /_

Hermione put down the pen and wiped tears from her eyes. Her mother's death had been sudden, a car accident. Her father had somehow neglected to tell her of her death, and she hadn't found out until she returned home for summer break 5 months later. She wasn't able to attend the funeral, and she didn't know where her grave was.

Hermione had gone, in less than a year, from having two loving, supportive parents to having no mother while her dad turned to alcohol for support. Some of the time her dad was all right, a bit quiet, but that was only until he was drunk. When he was drunk, he would hit and beat her, taking all his pain and frustration out on her. She could never tell Harry and Ron that. She couldn't tell anyone that. She might have, if not for her little sister Anna.

Anna was 4, too young to fully understand what was happening, or where her mommy went. Hermione had put the strongest protection spells she could find on her so that her father would not be able to hit or otherwise harm Anna while Hermione was still alive. She had left Anna in their god-parents' care, but he knew where she was and could still kill her despite the many spells Hermione had placed on her. Hermione's father had sworn that Anna would meet an early grave if Hermione told anyone, and Hermione believed him. She wouldn't let anyone else suffer because of her.

Hermione closed the spiral notebook and tucked it back in her purse with her pen. Out of her purse she took a silver badge with the inscription HG for Head Girl. She pinned it on the front of her shirt as the train pulled out of the station. Her head snapped up as the compartment door slid open. Harry and Ron stood there.

"Who are you…Hermione?" Ron stared at her in disbelief

"Yes I am, or at least I was the last time I checked." She looked down at herself, "Yes, I am."

"What the hell happened? You look so…different." Ron finished lamely, looking to Harry for support.

"Well I like different better, so learn to deal with it." Hermione snapped, "And don't start telling me how to live or dress because…." She stopped speaking as the compartment door slid open.

"I'm looking for Granger." Draco Malfoy's drawling voice filled the small compartment.

"Right here, Malfoy" She spat out his last name, "What the hell do you want?" Ron and Harry gasped at Hermione cursing, and even Draco looked slightly taken aback for a second.

"Heads' meeting. McGonagall wants to talk with us and then we're supposed to plan school events." Hermione glanced at the front of Draco's robes to see a silver badge that matched her own, except his had the inscription HB for Head Boy.

"Whatever." She turned to Harry and Ron. "See you later." She picked up her trunk, slinging her purse over one shoulder. "Lead the way."

"And as Head Boy and Girl, you two will share a common room separate from the other students, have independent dormitories, and share a bathroom." Hermione glanced up and rolled her eyes then went back to "taking notes" in her spiral.

_/Her wings are ripped and tattered_

_Halo tilted to one side_

_Her dress greyed with dirt and mud splatters_

_As tears of blood run from her eyes_

_Her once-blue eyes have lost their shine_

_The wind no longer lifts her as sorrow holds her down_

_She's losing touch with who she is, she's forgotten how to fly_

_She lowers her wings sadly as her feet stay firm on solid ground_

_Who is she, this broken angel?_

_And where will she be missed?_

_Looking at her you could never tell_

_That her hair was once wind caressed_

_And there was a time when she had it all_

_And then she began to fall_

_And there's no one left to call_

_Not even the friendly brick wall_

_For she has lost her voice in crying_

_And lost her strength in trying/_

"So I'll leave you two to planning." Professor McGonagall finished as she sailed out of the compartment.

"Plan what?" Hermione inquired curiously, looking up from her notebook as the door slid shut.

"Fun activities and dances for the students. Were you even paying attention?" Draco asked, glancing over at her notebook.

"No I wasn't," She snapped the notebook closed before he could read anything, "Is that a problem?"

"You're a lot different then you were last year. Is there any reason?"

"NO!" Hermione snapped, "Just mind your own business Malfoy, I'm going to sleep." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Draco stared at Hermione. She was very different from what she was last year. Last year she would have taken notes and nagged him about the list, not ask him what it was about. She was also wearing all black, which she never would have done last year. Her face looked far paler than he remembered, but that could be an effect of all the black. Her do-not-care attitude unnerved him, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the way it mirrored his own, carefully constructed, mask. And what was in that notebook that she didn't want him to see? He slowly reached for it.

"Don't touch it Malfoy." Hermione muttered groggily, half-conscious. She tucked it into her trunk and locked it. She lay down on the seat, sprawled across her side of the compartment. In a few minutes Draco could tell by her quiet, even breathing that she was asleep. He went back to studying her. This time he noticed something that he couldn't see before because her hair had been in the way. Along her neck were several small bruises. Finger-sized bruises, to be exact.

"What the hell has happened to you, Granger?" Draco muttered, mostly to himself. He carefully, slowly and gently, moved her hair aside. Her hair, which had been bushy last year, was now soft and silky. As he moved her hair away from her neck and face, he could tell that the bruises went around her neck, and were definitely made by fingers. Who knew what other bruises she hid beneath her dark clothing? Draco rubbed at his shoulder beneath his robe, which concealed his own bruises. Who would have thought he would ever have so much in common with Hermione? He couldn't even feel his usual disdain for the girl lying on the seat in front of him. Her body, lying prone and unmoving on the seat made her look vulnerable, even heart wrenching.

Most of his hatred for her had originated from his assumption of her perfect life and his own father's prejudices against the Muggle-born. It was now obvious to him that her life wasn't as perfect as he had always thought, and Draco no longer cared what his father thought of him or of others. Besides, he was sharing a common room and bathroom with her; he might as well try to be civil.

Hermione awoke around an hour later, aching all over. Draco watched bemusedly as she woke and stretched, looking around slightly confused. Her gaze finally lit upon Draco and she frowned. Draco quickly decided to confront her before she decided to leave or go back to sleep.

"How long?" He asked quietly, grey eyes staring at her.

"What?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"How long have you been living with abuse?" He clarified for her, watching as her body stiffened at the word abuse

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Hermione stammered, nervously clenching her hands into fists. Her mind went into panic mode as her eyes darted from Draco, to the door, then back to Draco.

"Please. Why else would you have that on your neck?" He pointed to the bruises and Hermione's hands flew to them as she gasped. "And it explains the drastic change in you." Draco saw the wild look in Hermione's eyes, could read the fear in her rigid body. "It's okay," He lowered his voice to a soft, soothing tone that Hermione had never heard him use before, "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." He took a book out of his trunk and calmly began to read. Hermione watched Draco, staring at him, as if he had grown another head.

"Why are you being so nice?" She finally demanded suspiciously. He looked up from his book at her with sadness in his eyes, though his face stayed the calm, uncaring mask that it always was.

"Because I can relate to you. Because I no longer want to impress my father with who my friends are, I no longer care what that bastard thinks." Draco rolled up the sleeve of his robe, showing multiple bruises littering his arm. Hermione gasped as his words sunk in.

"So all of your past coldness has just been a way to protect yourself?" Draco nodded as he slid his sleeve back down.

"I don't care what people think anymore. If people don't like who I really am, I don't care. I'm not going back home again, I'm going to find somewhere new to live." Hermione looked down.

"At least you can leave," She remarked bitterly, "If I leave, my sister dies."

"Your…sister?"

"Yeah, my little sister Anna…I don't even know why I'm telling you this…how do I know you are not going to go tell the whole school about my sucky life?" She asked, folding her arms and glaring at him suspiciously. Draco laughed dryly.

"If I was going to do that, would I have showed you this?" He tapped his arm. "And would I have told you all this?"

"You could be lying." Hermione pointed out. Draco opened his trunk and reached into it, pulling out a small dagger. Hermione drew back from him, shrinking against the compartment seat.

"I'm not going to attack you." Draco assured her, sitting down on the seat next to her. "Do you know what one of the strongest bonds in the world is?" Hermione glanced from the knife to Draco and her eyes widened.

"Blood? You want to make a blood oath?" She asked incredulously. Draco nodded, drawing the silver dagger from the sheath that held it.

"I'll swear not to tell anyone about you being abused and then you'll swear not to tell anyone about me being abused." He looked to Hermione, who nodded her approval. He held the knife to his right hand and sliced the blade across his palm. "I, Draco Malfoy, swear to never tell anyone about Hermione Granger being abused." He handed the dagger to Hermione, who followed his example, bringing the dagger to her own right hand and made a cut.

"I, Hermione Granger, swear to never tell anyone about Draco Malfoy being abused." She looked to Draco for instructions on what to do next. Draco held his hand out straight in front of him and extended it to Hermione, motioning for her to do the same. She brought her hand to his and they interlaced fingers, palms touching as their blood mingled. She felt a slight tingling in her fingers, and then a jolt of pure energy ran down her arm. She looked in surprise to Draco, who looked back at her with a wide-eyed look of confusion before both of them blacked out.

Draco sat up quickly, looking around him. His eyes took in his surroundings and he realized he was on the Hogwarts Express. What had happened? He saw his dagger lying on the floor, and saw Hermione lying next to him, their hands still entwined. Then he remembered the blood oath. But why had he blacked out? And what was that surge of power he had felt run up his arm? Hermione moaned next to him as she stirred, and he looked down at her as her eyes flickered open.

"What happened?" She brought her hand to her face, examining the small scar that was now on her palm. Draco shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Nothing like that should have happened. You should have just felt a small tingling and that would be all. I'm not sure what went wrong." He looked out the window at the scenery. "And we've obviously been out for quite a while now. We're already almost to Hogwarts." Hermione's eyes widened and she quickly rushed to her trunk, opening the lid and rummaging through it, pulling out a black wizard robe. "I can leave…."

"Don't be silly, I'm wearing a cami under this." She interrupted him as she pulled off her long-sleeve shirt. Under it she wore a black camisole and Draco finally saw her arms.

"Holy shit!" Draco muttered. Her arms were all bruised, bruises atop bruises, until her whole arm looked like one huge bruise. He could barely see any skin beneath it. Her shoulders were bruised and cut, and he could only imagine how her back looked.

"Like what you see?" Hermione asked sarcastically, pulling her robes on over her head.

"Who did this to you?" Draco demanded angrily. "This…this is so extreme. Even my father wouldn't dare go this far." Hermione sighed sadly.

"My father. Not that I blame him, he's always drunk, he doesn't know what he's doing, he doesn't really mean it." She slid her skirt off from beneath her robe and pinned her badge to the front of her robes.

"Then who do you blame?" Draco asked sarcastically, "If you don't blame the one who hits you?"

"Alcohol…God…myself." Hermione replied with a shrug, putting her clothes in her trunk and checking her hair in the compartment window. Draco glanced up from gathering his own stuff.

"How can you blame yourself for this? It's not your fault he hits you."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't blame yourself." She shot back at him. Draco looked down and Hermione smiled sadly. "I suppose that everyone blames themselves, no matter how stupid they know that it is, you just can't help it." She latched her trunk shut as Hogwarts came into view through the window. "I really don't want to have to talk to Harry and Ron," She groaned, "They ask too many questions. My father said that he would kill my sister Anna if I told anyone. I took a huge risk in admitting it to you and I'm not about to tell anyone else and risk her life. Especially not Harry and Ron, they mean well but would tell an adult or do something rash like kidnap me." Draco nodded and rolled his eyes.

"Idiots." he remarked dryly. "Here, you might need this." He pulled a small bottle with a cork in it from his robe pocket. "Headache potion." He explained as he handed it to her.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you," The compartment door slid open as Ron walked in, "He might have poisoned it." Hermione glared at him and rolled her eyes, removing the cork from the bottle's neck and drinking the potion.

"I'm not dead yet," She informed him, handing the bottle and cork back to Draco, "Thanks." She smiled sweetly as Ron fumed.

"Why are you even hanging out with that ferret? You're fraternizing with the enemy! You should have come back right after the meeting!" Ron's tone was angry, his voice filled with loathing. Hermione stiffened and stepped back, away from Ron in fear. Draco touched her hand reassuringly.

"Calm down Weasley. McGonagall said we had to stay here after the meeting and plan. I didn't harm her."

"You better not Malfoy, or me and Harry will have to come kick your ass."

"Harry and I," Hermione muttered, correcting his improper grammar. Ron glared at her. She clenched her hands behind her back, but met his glare with an even gaze.

"Fine. Harry and I. C'mon Hermione, let's go."

"No." Hermione snapped, sitting down on the seat.

"What did you say?" Ron yelled, his face becoming quite red.

"I said no, Ronald Weasley. What is it that you cannot understand about that?" She asked in a soft, even voice that seemed as dangerous as a yell.

"Have you gone bloody mad? Hanging out with… with HIM!" His voice was getting louder now, and his eyes showed nothing but anger.

"Maybe I have," Hermione returned coolly, looking at him calmly, "But if I have, who really gives a damn?"

"Ron, let's go." Harry stood behind Ron, his hand on his shoulder. He looked at Hermione for a second before nodding slightly at her.

"But…but." Ron sputtered angrily. Harry rolled his eyes and steered Ron away from the compartment and down the train.

"Well, shall we go?" Draco asked, extending his hand to Hermione. She took it and stood slowly on still-trembling knees.

"Sure, why not?" She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, wincing slightly. Hermione and Draco walked down the train, out into the warm summer night. Hermione walked amongst the Thestral-drawn carriages looking for an empty one. Although she couldn't see the Thestrals, she knew they were there, and that was enough to give her shivers. Hermione finally found an empty carriage and motioned to Draco, both of them climbing in. Hermione looked around at all the other carriages and the huddled group of first years preparing to cross the lake in small boats. She sighed. It was good to be back at Hogwarts, where she was safe. She sunk down into the cushioned seat and sighed again, grateful for the small comfort it offered. She looked up as there was a rustling sound and Ginny Weasley entered the carriage. She looked from Hermione to Draco with a questioning glance, then settled herself into the seat across from Hermione.

"Good job on getting Head Girl," Ginny said cheerfully, "But I thought they didn't assign them until 7th year." Hermione smiled slightly.

"They usually don't, but Dumbledore decided, with Voldemort back and all, that we need more authority figures and assigned both 6th and 7th year Heads."

"So then who's…" Ginny broke off as she glanced over at Draco and saw his badge. "Oh…" She stared at Draco for a minute. "Was this why my brother was going on about you consorting with the enemy?" Hermione and Draco nodded and Ginny laughed. "Don't worry about him, he really is a bit of an idiot." She and Hermione exchanged smiles as the carriage began to move. "So how did your summer go Hermione?" Hermione's smile turned to a frown as she looked down at the carriage floor.

"My mother died." She finally responded, blinking back tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't know." Ginny put her hand on Hermione's shoulder to try and comfort her. Hermione winced as her hand touched a sore spot. An awkward silence fell over the carriage, as the three occupants sat, no one knowing what to say next.

"So…did you know that this year they are starting Sex Ed. Classes for 6 and 7th year students?" Draco finally asked, breaking the silence. Both girls jumped and stared at him. "My father works for the Ministry and he said Dumbledore himself came up with the idea." Hermione laughed.

"Can you imagine Snape or McGonagall teaching that class?" Ginny grinned at her as Draco laughed, trying to imagine his head of house teaching Sex Ed. Ginny turned her head and looked at him curiously.

"Why are you being so nice? Is there something wrong with you? You haven't even insulted anyone yet!" Draco looked at her, amusement in his eyes.

"Maybe I've rethought my values and position in life. Maybe I'm tired of living a lie as a snobby rich boy." Ginny looked at him incredulously then looked at Hermione, who merely nodded.

"Well then. I don't think that we were ever officially introduced. I am Virginia Weasley, but you can call me Ginny." She extended her hand to Draco.

"I'm Draco Malfoy. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." He shook her hand slowly as Hermione watched with a smile from her seat and the carriage slowed to a stop in front of Hogwarts Castle.

Draco stepped out of the carriage and turned to offer his hand to Ginny, who took it as she carefully stepped down from the carriage. She stood waiting patiently as Draco turned and helped Hermione down from the carriage. The trio turned and began to walk up the stairs to the castle. They had only gone a few steps before Ginny ran off to talk with one of the girls from her year. The whole group of Hogwarts students slowly trickled through the large castle doors into the entrance hall.

"Your mother died?" Draco glanced over at Hermione. "You didn't tell me that." Hermione ran a hand through her long black hair.

"Yeah. She died during last year, my father didn't tell me until I came home for summer break." She kept her voice low, not anxious to share her news with the bustling crowd.

"Your father's a bastard." Draco muttered back as they walked into the Great Hall.

"When he's drunk, yes." Hermione agreed as they passed through the doors and stood in front of the four house tables. "Well, I'll see you later." She turned and walked to the Gryffindor table as Draco turned and walked to his own table. Hermione chose a seat at the end of the table near the doors, all by herself, far away from the rest of her house and from the table where the Professors sat. She looked down the table and saw Ron and Harry at the far end, having an animated conversation with the other guys from their year. 'Probably about quidditch', she surmised from the way they were waving their arms. In the middle of the table Ginny sat with some of her year-mates. She looked back to the doors to the Great Hall as they opened and the first years filed in.

Draco Malfoy sat at the Slytherin table, watching the short first years enter the room. He could swear that the first years got smaller every year. His gaze flickered to Hermione Granger, who sat alone at the end of the Gryffindor table, looking bored. He watched her as she took out a book from her purse and began to read. 'Some things never change' he thought amusedly. He reached into a pocket of his robe and a small piece of parchment and began writing.

Hermione jumped, startled, as there was a small flash of light and a piece of parchment appeared in front of her on the table.

/_Bored already? D/_ She glanced across the room at a smirking Draco Malfoy, then pulled a pen out of her purse.

_/Maybe…H/_ She scribbled, then tapped the parchment with her wand and saw Draco look down, then back up at her, clearly amused.

_/What are you reading/_ He wrote back as the Sorting Hat ceased to sing and Professor McGonagall called out the first name on her list.

_/Romeo and Juliet. It's by a Muggle, William Shakespeare; I don't expect you to have read it. /_ She wrote back, glancing up at the thinning number of first years standing.

_/"Never was there a tale of more woe, then that of Juliet and her Romeo"…I think you assume too much. /_ Draco's reply came promptly as the last first year was sorted into Ravenclaw and Dumbledore rose to make a speech

_/"Some shall be pardoned and some punished"…do pardon me/_ She quoted back at him, then put her book and pen away to eat some of the delicious meal which had appeared upon the table.

Draco tucked the parchment into his pocket. She had been punished enough, he thought as he mused upon her reply. He realized that the students around him were eating, and he himself piled his plate with food.

"Draco darling, why aren't you sitting with me?" Draco turned around to see Pansy Parkinson standing behind him. She smiled at him and flung her arms around his neck.

"Get off me Pansy." He spat, pushing her back, away from him. She stared at him. "I don't like you and I never will, now will you please go away and leave me alone?" He turned back to his meal as Pansy flipped her hair angrily and stormed off. He made a face across the room at Hermione, who giggled at his disgusted expression.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron stared down the table at Hermione.

"Maybe she was just upset that you were yelling at her. You know how she gets." Harry suggested from between bites of chicken

"No, I mean even before that. She was short-tempered and snappy, and she cussed. And what did she do to her hair?"

"Maybe she was in a bad mood. Ginny said that her mother died this summer." Ron nodded.

"We should go sit by her, say we're sorry."

"You mean YOU'RE sorry," Harry pointed out with a smile, "I didn't do anything to her." They both walked to the other end of the table, sitting on either side of Hermione. She glanced up and stopped eating.

'HELP!' She screamed mentally and gave Draco a desperate look across the room. "Help!" She mouthed at him when their gazes met. He smiled and shrugged at her. She only glared back.

"So Hermione, I heard about your mother…" Hermione glared daggers at Ron and Ron was faintly aware that if looks could kill, he would be dead and buried by now.

"Don't you dare even talk to me Ronald Weasley." She hissed at him. "Because a certain red-haired boy, that I am unfortunate enough to be acquainted with, has recently informed me that I have gone quite bloody mad and in my current state of mind, I might just kill you before I realize what I am doing." She took a spoonful of pudding and put it in her mouth as Harry and Ron exchanged glances over her head.

"Not that it would be much of a loss." Hermione glanced up at Draco, who sat down across from her at the table. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he merely smiled in return.

"What…what is he doing here?" Ron sputtered, and even Harry looked surprised.

"Sitting. The same thing that you are doing." Hermione informed him pointedly as she smiled at Draco.

"He has a point. Why are you here Malfoy?" Harry spoke up from Hermione's left side.

"I am here because Miss Granger here has a great taste in literature and is enjoyable company." He looked at Ron. "Why are you here?"

"This is my table!" He returned indignantly. "And besides, 'Mione's my friend."

"It didn't appear that way when you were shouting at her on the train," Draco replied coldly, "Or is that what you consider friendship?" Ron opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short as Dumbledore stood to remind them that the Forbidden Forest, and to introduce their Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor, a Miss Nymphadora Tonks. Harry and Ron applauded loudly for her, and she beamed at them from beneath her bright blue hair.

"And I would like to remind you all that inter-house unity is the most important thing. Together we will win the war against Voldemort." Albus Dumbledore smiled down at his yawning students. "But now it is time for bed. Can I see the 6th year Head Boy and Girl please?" He waved his hands in dismissal and the students began to rise and scatter. Hermione and Draco quickly left Harry and Ron to go stand by Dumbledore, who smiled at them. "I see you are already good friends," He said, blue eyes twinkling, "Good. Please come with me, I will show you your new quarters." He led them out of the Great Hall, across the Entry Hall, and down a flight of stairs. Hermione smiled as they passed a familiar painting of a silver bowl of fruit. Dumbledore stopped at the portrait just to the right of the kitchen. "Unitas." He said to the painting of a scantily clad mermaid perched on a rock

"Yeah." She giggled, swinging open.

"Well, I will leave you two to exploring your new rooms" Dumbledore said with a smile as Hermione and Draco walked into their new common room and the painting swung shut behind them.

(That's all for now folks. Read and Review. Flames welcome, the better to roast marshmallows for s'mores with. Next time, their new quarters, and how to share a bathtub! Anne)


	2. How to share a bathtub

A/N: Hey y'all. I couldn't believe the good reviews I got for my first chapter. They inspired me to hurry with this one for my attentive readers. In the course of writing this chapter I got dragged to the beach, where my very important fanfiction manuscript was attacked by children with water guns, one of which being my brother, but it survived, so here it is! Thanks to my BETA: A.N.L. I love you girl.

(Disclaimer: I own nothing whatsoever, and if I did I sure as well would not be writing a fanfiction about it, I would be out being rich! But enjoy anyway)

Last time on Broken Angels: "Well, I will leave you two to exploring your new rooms" Dumbledore said with a smile as Hermione and Draco walked into their new common room and the painting swung shut behind them.

And now, the continuation: 

The room was quite large big for just the two of them. Three sofas sat around a coffee table in front of a large fireplace off to the right. The left wall was covered on bookshelves. Directly ahead of them there was an open staircase with oak banisters. At the top of this staircase were three doors. Draco and Hermione ascended the stairs to examine the doors. Two intricately carved doors stood facing each other at the top of the stairs, the one to the right engraved with the letters HB, the one on the left bearing the letters HG. The door directly in front of them was unmarked. Hermione opened her door and stared at the spacious interior. She had a queen sized four-poster bed, a desk, a large closet, and a tall chest of drawers. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and lit the torches. Her trunk sat at the foot of her bed, she observed as she turned to explore the other room, the unmarked one. She opened the door slowly. As she opened the door the light inside the room got brighter and she looked in at a large bathroom lit by a large chandelier that held many candles. The wall to the left was a mirror, below it were two gold sinks set into a white marble counter. Across from the mirror, there was a large bath sunk into the floor with many taps around it. The tub was also marble, and large enough to swim in. At the back of the bathroom, there was a door, which opened to reveal a small room with a toilet.

"Awesome bathroom, huh?" Draco stepped into the room behind Hermione, who nodded.

"The only problem is privacy when one is taking a bath," She pointed out, "As the bath is in the middle of the room." Draco smiled at her.

"Wear a bathing suit." He suggested, walking out the door. Hermione rolled her eyes and walked back into her room, locking the door behind her. She removed her robe and camisole and knelt in front of her trunk. She took out her two-piece bathing suit and changed into it, glaring disgustedly at her bruises. She opened the door to her room, and walked into the bathroom. Draco was already there, kneeling in front of the tub in swim trunks. She watched silently as he turned on different taps. She looked at his back, noting the belt marks and different bruises.

"You know, overall you don't look too bad." She informed him, turning to stare at herself in the mirror. Draco looked up at her and winced.

"The Cruciatus curse leaves no scar," He said bitterly, "And Dad's quite fond of that one." Draco looked up at the bruises that adorned Hermione's body and wished there was some way that he could help her. "Do they all still hurt?" He asked, coming to stand next to her in front of the mirror.

"Sometimes." Hermione stared at their reflections. "Look at us. Two victims. Who would have ever thought we would ever have this much in common?" She turned to look at Draco. "Would you?" Draco slowly turned to look at her.

"No. I was always jealous of you. You seemed to have this perfect life, the good grades, supporting friends, everything I didn't. I never would have thought that your life could get this bad." He looked down at the full bathtub. "After we get our bath, I have some ointment that will help the bruises heal faster and not hurt so much. You can use some if you like." Draco stepped into the bubble-covered water.

"That would be nice, thank you." Hermione slid in from the side and found, to her surprise, that the water was almost too deep for her to touch the bottom of the tub. "Honestly, this isn't a tub, it's a pool." She told Draco with a laugh. "You could swim laps in this thing." She moved to the edge of the tub where there was an underwater ledge to sit on.

"But why would you want to swim laps when you could simply relax in the bubbly goodness?" Hermione giggled. "What?" She only laughed harder. "Hermione…are you okay?" She was laughing so hard that tears streamed down her cheeks and she clutched at her stomach. Draco waited until her laughing fit subsided, then looked at her curiously. "What?"

"You said…" Her mouth twitched. "You said bubbly goodness. I was wondering who you are and what you've done to Malfoy." She laughed, but stopped abruptly and her expression softened. "You called me Hermione," She observed quietly, "Does this mean I'm allowed to call you Draco?"

"Of course you can. Who am I? I'm Draco and I've currently thrown Malfoy into the deepest, darkest whole I could find, and hope that he can't get out." He smirked and leaned back against the edge of the tub. "I think I'll go by my mother's maiden name from now on. Draco Black. What do you think?" Hermione thought of Sirius Black and his death. She knew that Sirius had died fighting Voldemort's followers and that Draco was now quite obviously unaffiliated with them.

"I think it's wonderful." She smiled at him.

"You'll find that Draco Black is very different from Draco Malfoy." He climbed out of the tub and stood in front of the mirror, looking at his reflection critically. "Do you think I should change my hair color?" He asked, running his fingers through said hair. Hermione looked at him for a moment.

"I like your hair. Just try not putting all that gel stuff in it to hold it up." She motioned him over and pulled him into the tub. "Tip your head back." She ordered. He obeyed, looking up at her smiling face curiously. Hermione got his hair soaked in the water, running her fingers through it to get all the gel out. The fact that Draco's head was in her lap did not seem to faze her at all. "There." She announced. "That looks better." Draco looked at his reflection in the mirror. "And you should let it grow long." She suggested.

"I guess" Draco looked back at her. "Since when were you the expert on hair?" Hermione laughed.

"Since I charmed my hair black and straight. You wouldn't believe how many colors I tried before I decided on black." She climbed out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself.

"I'll go get the ointment I told you about." Draco draped a towel over his shoulders and walked out of the bathroom. Hermione ran her fingers through her wet hair as she dried herself off. Draco returned quickly, a large glass bottle filled with what looked like lotion. He put it down on the bathroom counter. "Just put some of this on your bruises. Don't worry about using too much, I have a lot more." He poured some on his hand and began to rub it onto the bruises on his arms. Hermione poured some onto her hand and began rubbing it on her own bruises. Draco watched her out of the corner of his eye. She had bruises on her arms, a few on her stomach, and some on her legs. She turned away from him to get her leg and he caught a glimpse of her back. He flinched from the sight. She had bruises, welts and cuts all across it. "Is this a burn mark?" He asked, running his fingers across the long red mark that sat across the whole of her lower back. Hermione turned her back to the mirror and looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah. That was the time he used a hot fire poker." Draco, for all he had been through, and all the pain he had felt, could not believe the calm way that she had said that. He looked at her and saw the shimmer of unshed tears glimmering in her dark brown eyes.

"I'm sorry." Draco walked to Hermione and hugged her gently, carefully aware of her bruises. Hermione began to cry, sobbing hiccuping sobs as tears flowed down her cheeks. Draco held her until she finally stopped crying and pulled away.

"Thank you." Hermione wiped tears from her cheeks and splashed cold water on her red puffy eyes.

"Anytime." Draco replied. "Do you want me to help you get your back?" She nodded, gathering her long hair and pulling it forward over her shoulder. Draco poured some of the ointment on his hands and began gently rubbing it onto her back.

"Where do you get this stuff?" Hermione asked softly, eyes closed as Draco gently worked on her back.

"I found the recipe in an old potion book in my house. I made it myself." He responded, gently running his hand over her scars and cuts. His hand skimmed over her burns, barely allowing his fingers to touch her.

"You must give me the recipe." Hermione's voice was relaxed, at ease.

"Of course." Draco finished her back. "Will you help me with my back?" He asked her as she turned to him.

"Of course." She replied sweetly, pouring the ointment onto her hand. He turned his back to her and she rubbed her hands against his back, carefully working over the bruises. Her hand came to a scar that ran all the way across his back. "What is this?" She asked him softly, running her fingers across it curiously. Draco shivered at her touch even though the room was quite warm.

"That was from a knife. I was disrespectful to my father, and then I turned and walked off. It's probably very lucky that I turned when I did, otherwise he would have gotten my stomach." Hermione nodded understandingly as she rubbed the ointment onto his shoulders.

"There." She announced. "I'm done." She sighed and sat on the bathroom counter.

"Thank you." Draco put the stopper back into the bottle. Hermione nodded and yawned. "I think it's time for us to go to bed." He suggested with a smile.

"Yeah, probably." She replied, sliding off the counter and walking to the door. "Goodnight Draco."

"Goodnight Hermione." Draco followed her out the bathroom door and watched as she walked into her room. She shut the door and turned out the lights. Draco smiled and wondered if she had even bothered to change into pajamas before she had gone to bed. He shook his head and went to his room to go to bed himself.

Across the castle two boys sat awake still, discussing Hermione.

"Something's wrong with her. Since when does she hang out with Malfoy?" Ron was pacing back and forth in front of the Gryffindoor Common Room's fireplace as Harry watched him from a couch nearby.

"Well I think Malfoy is a bit different then last year." Harry pointed out calmly. "He defended Hermione, did you notice that?"

"She needs to stay away from him, even if he is acting like a perfect gentleman." Ron seethed. "And he better stay away from her."

"Why?" Startled, the two boys looked up to see Ginny Weasley standing at the bottom of the stairs to the girls' dorms. She had a robe thrown on over a white cotton nightgown. "Is it just 'cause you're jealous of him?" She walked, her slippers silent on the floor, over to the couch and sat down next to Harry.

"He's Draco bloody Malfoy for Merlin's sake!" Ron ranted. "His father's a bloody Death Eater!"

"Look at Sirius' parents. Look at Snape. Your parents don't make you! I will tell you that Draco is different this year. I shared a carriage with him and he didn't insult anyone. He said that he has rethought his values and position in life and I believe him." She finished this all in one breath and on the final him, gasped for air. Ron took this chance to continue ranting.

"Since when do you call him Draco, huh? Did it ever occur to you that he could just be a spy? Here to find out how best to kill Harry and report back to Voldemort?" He stammered on Voldemort's name, but then his voice hardened. "Do you want to help him do that?"

"Did it ever occur to you that this might have nothing to do with Harry or Voldemort? I mean honestly, not everything in the whole goddamn world revolves around them." Ron opened his mouth to tell her off for cursing. "Don't you dare interrupt me, Ronald Bilius Weasley! Maybe Draco has decided that what his father does is wrong, or maybe he has gone off and joined Death Eater Youth. You don't have to have anything to do with him if you'd like, but I believe everyone deserves a second chance, no matter who they are or who their parents are." She smiled at him. "Now you may speak." Ron exploded.

"Is everyone here going mad? First Hermione, now you? You want me to give Draco Malfoy a second chance. There's no way he could be good, he's been raised to be bad!"

"Maybe if you could open your eyes and look past your squashed ego, your jealousy that she is hanging out with him instead of you, and they share a Common Room, then maybe you could see that Draco is different."

"And hot." Ginny turned to see Lavender at the foot of the stairs, along with most of the girls from the house behind her. Ginny's gaze shifted to the boys' staircase and saw most of the guys there.

"She's sharing a common room with him?" Ron went on as if there had been no interruption.

"And a bathroom." One of the girls added from the stairs. Ginny stared at her. "I heard some of the teachers talking about it." Ron became even more agitated.

"Brother of mine, I love you a lot, but sometimes you can be quite an idiot," Ginny stopped Ron from speaking, "Go to bed and try to be civil to everyone tomorrow." She turned to the crowd on the stairs. "Alright everyone, show's over, go back to your beds and sleep." She walked up the stairs to the girls' dorms and soon Harry and Ron were the only people in the room again.

"She's right Ron, it's time to go to bed." Harry stood and walked to the foot of the stairs. He looked to Ron. "You coming?" Ron shook his head.

"I'll be up in a minute, you go ahead." Harry nodded and left. Ron sat down on the couch and stared into the glowing embers that remained in the fireplace.

"So today I think we should sit at your table." Hermione commented, not taking her eyes off the mirror as she did her makeup.

"What's that?" Draco pointed at the tube in her hand.

"Mascara." She replied as she quickly applied some. "Makes your eyelashes look longer. Don't you dare put gel in your hair."

"Okay, I won't." Draco ran a comb through his hair, examining it in the mirror. "Sure. We can sit at my table today. Tomorrow we're sitting at yours though."

"'Kay." Hermione braided her hair into one long braid that hung down her back. You could barely see her dark hair against her black robes. "I woke up today for the first time in months not feeling sore. I have to say that you're a good potions maker." She rolled up her sleeves. "And the bruises are mostly gone." Draco smiled at her.

"That's mostly the point of the ointment. In two or three days, you should be able to wear short sleeves again." Hermione grinned broadly. "Are you ready to go?" Hermione took on last look in the mirror, then nodded. She picked up her backpack and lifted it to her shoulders. She groaned under the weight of all her books. "Hold on." Draco held out a hand as he drew his wand from his pocket. He took her backpack from her and cast a cushioning charm on the straps. He handed it back to her. "Try this." She slipped it on with a smile.

"I should have thought of that." She said with a small frown, shaking her head. Draco smiled at her.

"Well I guess that's why I'm here. To help you think of stuff like that when you forget." He sighed dramatically. Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"No, you're here because Dumbledore believes in inter-house unity and in giving everybody a second chance. Even Slytherin ex-prefects who abuse their privileges horrendously, then decide to become a member of the Inquisitorial Squad instead." Draco smiled at the memory.

"If I remember correctly, you and your friends lied to the Headmistress then attacked us. I seem to remember being attacked by little flying things." Hermione giggled.

"Well I didn't like the Headmistress and I don't think that you were scarred for life. Are we even then?" Draco nodded. "Good, let's go to breakfast then, I'm starving."

Breakfast in the Great Hall that morning was a very subdued matter. The Slytherins stared at the Gryffindoor girl sitting voluntarily at their table, but could and would not do anything about it as she was sitting with Draco Malfoy. The Malfoy family name was an old name, which demanded respect. They did not yet know about his choice to go by Black yet, but Black was a respected name as well, if you could count out Sirius as a member of that family. The Gryffindoors stared at one of their own sitting with the Slytherins. The girls gossiped quietly, clustered around Ginny Weasley. The boys mostly discussed Quidditch, looking over occasionally, with the exception of Ron, who glared at Draco for the entirety of the meal. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables were amused, and took bets on how they thought this would turn out. The professors sat up at their table, unaware of the conflict that was happening right under their noses. They did, however, wonder why the Hall was so quiet, but assumed their students were just tired. Dumbledore, of course, knew exactly what was going on, but he was the Headmaster of the school, so it was not unusual for him to know everything that happened under Hogwarts' roof. He merely thought it was wonderful that two students from opposing Houses got along so well.

After they had eaten breakfast the Heads of Houses came to distribute schedules for the year. Hermione begrudgingly went back to her table, but only long enough to get her schedule. She immediately went back to the Slytherin table to compare schedules with Draco. She had Defense Against The Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions class with him.

"I've got to go to Ancient Runes now. Work hard in your break hour." Hermione teased Draco, winking at him before rushing off, her backpack bouncing on her shoulders. Draco smiled as he watched her hurry off. He headed back to their shared common room and reread through his schedule. He had an hour of break, and then he was to go to Defense Against The Dark Arts. Draco's eyes wandered to the tall bookshelves in the room and his thoughts wandered to the incident yesterday involving the blood oath. He approached the bookcase thoughtfully.

"Blood oath…blood oath…what book would that be in?" The library was Hermione's domain, not his. The bookcase, either in pity for him, or from an ironic accident, swayed slightly as he put his hand on it. It quickly steadied, but a book fell out and landed on his foot. "Ouch" He muttered, looking down at the book. "Blood And Its Many Uses. What on earth is a book like this doing here?" He shrugged, as the empty Common Room offered no answers. He walked back to a couch, opening the book and scanning the pages.

An hour later Draco hurried to the Defense Against The Dark Arts' classroom, Hermione only arriving just before him.

"Hermione." She glanced up at him, turning around halfway through the door to the classroom. "You have to see this." He handed the open book to her and pointed out a paragraph at the bottom of the page. Hermione quickly took a seat at a table and began reading.

_/In some rare cases, a blood oath can be the cause of a rare type of magic sharing. This is usually a result of the two wizards involved having an important event in common. If the two wizards are thinking about this event when making the oath, and emotions are very high, magic sharing may occur. In this sharing, the two involved will exchange powers, thereby creating an unbreakable magical bond. There have been few people who have had this happen, and not much is known about the effects./_

"An unbreakable magical bond? What is that supposed to mean?" Hermione gasped, looking up at Draco. At that moment Professor Tonks walked into the room. Her hair was a bright shade of red.

"Hello students. Some of you I already know." Her gaze swept over Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Others of you I don't. I am Professor Tonks. You may call me Tonks, but anyone who uses my first name will be put in detention and will probably be unable to speak for a week." She said this all quite cheerfully. "Today we will be practicing nonverbal spells. Many of your teachers will require it this year, and many defense spells are more effective nonverbal. To start you off, however, I would like you to try a simple charm. How about starting with Wingardium Leviosa? At your tables, try to make a piece of your parchment float without saying anything." Hermione drew her wand and pointed, cursing softly as her sleeve got in the way.

"What?" Draco asked, looking over from the seat beside her.

"My goddamn sleeve is in the way." She muttered back angrily.

"Tie it back then." He suggested nonchalantly, as if this was a problem he faced everyday. Maybe it was.

"With what?" She hissed.

"Silently children." Tonks instructed from the front of the classroom. Draco wordlessly reached into his bag and handed her a rubber band. She smiled and shook her head as she wrapped it around the cuff of her robe, keeping it firmly at her wrist. Silently she flicked her wand at the piece of parchment in front of her. 'Wingardium Leviosa?' She thought silently, as if inquiring if this really worked. The parchment did not so much as twitch. 'Wingardium Leviosa' she thought firmly at it, flicking her wand. To no one's surprise, she was the first to accomplish this feat. What surprised people was the fact that her and Draco's pieces of parchment rose into the air at the exact same time. They rose lazily into the air, synchronized perfectly. Hermione felt the same buzz of magic she had felt when she had performed the blood oath.

"This is too weird to be a coincidence." Hermione muttered in Draco's ear.

"Tell me about it. I was just about to say the same thing." He murmured back as Tonks congratulated them on their spectacular bit of magic and awarded both their Houses twenty points.

By the end of class, both of them were extremely disturbed. The magic bond was more obvious than either of them would have ever thought. Every time they were both attempting to make their parchment float, both of their pieces would float up together. The only way for them to avoid this was for one of them to think of something other then the task at hand, or for one of them to put down their wand.

"We need to talk." They chorused as they walked out of the classroom. They both had an hour off now as Hermione had dropped Arithmancy this year for a lighter class load. They went back to their common room.

"Okay. So this unbreakable magic bond of ours, what exactly does it do?" Hermione asked, tossing her backpack aside and sitting down on one of the couches.

"I don't know. The book doesn't really say anything about it besides the fact that it's rare." Draco replied.

"Well I guess we should go to the library." She replied after rereading the page in the book. Draco shook his head.

"Anything that would mention blood magic would be probably considered Dark and locked in the restricted section. I was surprised to find this book here." He sighed.

"Why? What's so bad about…" She broke off as Draco turned the book to a page on blood Voodoo dolls, then to a page on blood sacrifices to strengthen oneself. "Oh." He nodded and shut the book.

"And as I can't find a good excuse to get us into the restricted section, that pretty much rules the school library out." Hermione nodded slowly.

"Well we should at least see what we can do with these powers." She said resignedly. (Dramatic background music)

(All for now. I hope you enjoyed immensely. If so review. If not, review. Flames are more then welcome, I love s'mores. And besides that, I'm a pyro, so it's all good. Next time, their newfound powers and how to handle potions class, Draco's way. Anne)


	3. Study Group

**Answers To Reviews:**

limegirl62: I've got two for you this time, is that good?

A.N.L: Actually, it was funny

Britney Lauren: It's a story, but I never did say I was completely sane, now did I? I'm glad you liked the chapter

Only three reviews for the last chapter? That's disappointing, but my work will go on!Anne

Disclaimer: Poem in here is mine. I wrote it myself. I do not, unfortunately own any of the characters, but when I do I shall inform you immediately.

Last time on Broken Angels: "And as I can't find a good excuse to get us into the restricted section, that pretty much rules the school library out." Hermione nodded slowly. "Well we should at least see what we can do with these powers." She said resignedly.

And now the continuation…

'Can you hear me?' Hermione concentrated her thought toward Draco. Across the room he jumped and gasped.

'That's awesome!' He projected back at her and it was Hermione's turn to jump. His voice sounded like he was standing next to her talking, not standing across the room. He walked across the room to her. "Okay, so far we have synchronized magic, ability to locate each other easily, automatic shielding from each other's curses, and telepathy. Pretty nice list." He grinned at Hermione, who smiled back before up at the clock.

"We have to go to potions NOW." She snapped, quickly gathering her stuff. Draco grabbed a bag from the floor beside him then quickly exited the room, hurrying down the hallway. They made it to class as the bell rang. Professor Snape saw Hermione, realized who she was, and then opened his mouth to speak. Draco quickly assessed the situation and glared at Professor Snape as he put his arm around Hermione to guide her to a seat. Snape glanced inquisitively from Hermione to Draco, who merely nodded. The whole class held their breath to see what would happen.

"What is everyone waiting for?" Snape snapped. "Get your potions kits and scales out." There was a clatter as everyone rushed to get out said items. Hermione glanced to Draco.

'Thank you.' She thought at him. He looked over at her and nodded.

"Instructions are on the board." Snape spoke from the front of the classroom. "Very few of you have made it this far, and I doubt that many of you will pass this year." He glared specifically at Ron and Harry who had somehow managed to pass their Potion's O.W.L. Hermione remained silent throughout the class, working over her potion with a look of concentration on her face. She kept her head down, her eyes on her potion, mostly to avoid Ron and Harry's many attempts to get her attention. Her potion was the first to be finished, and it was exactly the shade that it was supposed to be. Even Professor Snape looked impressed as he stalked around the classroom to discourage students from making mistakes. "This potion is perfect Miss Granger." He admitted begrudgingly as he stood in front of her cauldron, looking down at the brew. "Take ten points for Gryffindoor." Hermione concealed her shock with a smile.

"Thank you Professor." She looked over at Draco with her eyebrows raised. When they filed out of class ten minutes later, she burst out laughing. Draco watched her with a look of amusement on his face. "That…was…so…awesome!" She gasped out between laughs. She finally regained her composure. "I don't know how you do it, but that was great." Draco nodded, then stared at something behind her, and frowned. "What is it?" She asked, then turned around. She turned around and saw Harry and Ron behind her. "Oh no." She breathed.

" Mione, we need to talk." Harry spoke up. She looked at their determined faces, then looked to Draco.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up with you later." Draco nodded, walking briskly down the corridor. She looked back to Harry and Ron. "What do you want?"

"First of all, why are you spending so much time with Malfoy?" Ron asked her with a frown.

"Well, first of all, he's severed all ties with his father, his last name is Black. Second of all, he's different this year. I enjoy his company." Harry frowned at the name Black.

"My turn." He interrupted Ron before he could ask more. "Why Black for a last name? And why has he severed ties with his father?"

"Black is his mother's maiden name. The second part of your question is not my place to answer. Ask Draco about it sometime." She could feel the tingling in her palm reminding her of the blood oath she had made with Draco. Ron spoke up again.

"Why did you do that to your hair?" He gestured to her black braid that she was playing with nervously.

"A lot of things this past summer. I'm not who was last year and I needed some way to show it. I changed my hair color because it felt weird, being different on the inside, but the same on the outside."

"What happened this summer?" Harry asked her quietly

"I don't want to talk about it." She replied firmly.

"So you can Malfoy, but you can't tell us, who have been your friends since first year?" Ron shouted.

"Black." Hermione corrected him softly

"Whatever. Why don't you trust us anymore?" Hermione winced and turned away, squaring her shoulders defensively. Ron grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "Look at me Hermione!" Hermione whimpered and acted instinctively, flinching away from him, covering her face with her arms as if waiting for an attack. Draco, who had only gone just around the next corner, decided that he needed to get her away from Ron before she went hysterical or bolted. He walked over.

"I think this discussion is over." He said firmly, glaring at Ron. "If you want another chance, learn how to talk without yelling at her." Draco approached Hermione slowly, ready to pull back if she got alarmed. He carefully put a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened. "It's okay Hermione, it's just me. You're okay." She looked up at him with tears glistening on her cheeks. "Come on, we need to go." He put his arm around her to comfort her, then led her down the hallway. Ron growled angrily and drew his wand. Harry grabbed it away from him.

"Don't." He said in a threatening tone. "I think I just figured out what happened over the summer that changed her."

"What?" Ron asked, watching Draco and Hermione turn the corner.

"If you couldn't figure that out on your own, then you really are an idiot. Your way of dealing with things isn't working well at all. I'm going to go talk to her alone later today."

"But why is she so different?" Ron asked curiously as Harry walked down the hallway,

"That's not my place to answer." Harry replied, echoing Hermione's earlier statement.

Hermione sat at a couch in her Common Room doing her homework. Draco sat across from her on another couch, reading a textbook. Hermione looked up at him.

"Thank you." She said softly. Draco looked up at her. "For helping me earlier with Ron. He's just… too aggressive and he reminds me a bit of my father." Draco nodded.

"I saw you flinch and I knew what you were thinking. I had to come help you." The two sat in silence working on their homework. The silence was broken by the sound of a bell.

"We have a doorbell?" Hermione asked in amazement. Draco stared at her. "Never mind." She stood and walked to the portrait and swung it open. Harry stood there. "What do you want?" She asked him.

"To talk, just you and me. Ron's being an idiot and I think that I know why you are acting so different." He replied. She stepped back to allow him into the room.

"Come in then." He walked in, looking around in amazement at their common room. She closed the portrait behind him. "You can sit down." She gathered her homework and books and piled them in one pile. Harry remained standing, his hands locked behind his back.

"Do you care if I say it in front of Mal-Draco?" Harry asked quietly. Hermione shook her head. "I really hope that I'm not right Hermione, but after what happened earlier…" He trailed off. "Hermione, does someone hit you?" Hermione bowed her head. Harry stepped forward and enveloped her in a hug. He felt her body trembling. "I won't tell anyone." He told her. She drew back from his embrace and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You swear?" Harry nodded. "And you won' t do anything… rash?" He nodded again and Hermione smiled in relief. "And definitely don't tell Ron, he would go nuts." Harry smiled in agreement. "Harry, I'd like to introduce you to Draco Black." She pushed him towards where Draco was sitting. "He's a good person, but he doesn't like to admit it." Draco looked up from his book to roll his eyes at her. She giggled. "Draco, I'd like to introduce you to Harry Potter." The two archenemies looked at each other for a second then shook hands.

"Truce?" Harry asked. Draco nodded.

"Truce."

"Hallelujah!" Hermione muttered.

_/Walking through eternal darkness_

_Forever night on an unlit street_

_Howling winds chill the air around me_

_As the sidewalk freezes beneath my feet_

_Cold, icy hands grasp at my hair, _

_Freezing it into lines of ice,_

_As shuddering sobs shake my body, _

_Teardrops frozen on my cheeks,_

_My steps pounding a haunting rhythm as I try to escape_

_Running as fast as I can, yet going nowhere._

_My ears are filled with the haunting screams of others_

_As they give up trying and drift away._

_Blood flows freely and stains the street, _

_Pain is normal here, _

_Unconsciousness a relieving bliss._

_Ghostly face of others over my shoulder, _

_Seeing if I can make it, _

_Barely daring to hope, _

_For hopes are easily shattered, _

_Truths easily forgotten, _

_And promises quickly broken._

_Shattering screams as yet another slips away, _

_My blood throbbing in my ears._

_This place, it haunts me, I must leave, _

_The end is far, but oh so near._

_Lord, there are no Angels here./_

"So Ron still refuses to join our study group?" Hermione asked, looking around at their small group in the common room as she closed her spiral notebook. Around a small table she sat with Draco, Harry, Ginny, and Blaise Zabini, a friend of Draco's from Slytherin. Blaise, as it turned out, despised Voldemort as much as the rest of their group. Neither of his parents were Death Eaters and he wasn't sure why he had been put in Slytherin. The five of them had gotten to know each other better and had become good friends. They had formed a study group that met every weekend. It was now nearing Halloween.

"Yeah. He's still being a prat about the whole thing." Ginny replied, not looking up from her Potions' essay on the Draught of Peace. "Are you supposed to stir clockwise first then counterclockwise, or counterclockwise then clockwise?"

"Clockwise first." Draco replied, looking up from his Charms book. "Who does Ron hang out with now that all three are you are friends with the two 'evil Slytherin boys?'" He asked, mimicking Ron's reaction to their invitation to join their group.

"He's mostly been with Seamus and Dean. He talks some to Neville and flirts shamelessly with Lavender." Harry replied with a short laugh. He turned to Hermione. "So how is planning for the Halloween Dance going?" Hermione grinned.

"Very well actually. Isn't it Draco?" She and Draco shared a secretive glance. "You guys are going to have so much fun."

"Will you two stop teasing and just tell us about it already?" Blaise groaned from beside Ginny. Hermione smiled sweetly at him.

"You'll find out when you get there, just like everyone else." She told him, flipping through her Ancient Runes' textbook. "So, who has dates? You know if you don't, you'll be partnered up with someone else for our surprise." She looked around.

"I'm going with Luna." Harry offered. "Is it okay with you guys if she joins our study group." Draco stood ceremoniously.

"All in favor of adding Luna Lovegood to our group, raise your hands." Everyone raised his or her hand. "Any objections?" Nobody moved. "Motion passed." He said, mock seriously before laughing with the rest of the group. Hermione returned to interrogating people.

"So Ginny, do you have a date?" Ginny flushed red to the roots of her hair.

"Yes." She mumbled. Hermione beamed.

"Well, who is it?" Ginny muttered something that Hermione couldn't understand. "Who?" She asked again.

"She's going with me." Blaise said, putting an arm around Ginny's waist. Hermione grinned.

"Awwwww, how cute." Ginny, still blushing madly, turned on Hermione.

"So do you have a date for the ball?" Hermione shook her head, a blush coloring her cheeks pink.

"I'll be busy making sure everything goes smoothly," She smiled at Ginny, "So everyone has a lot of fun."

"Has anyone asked you?" Ginny asked, rolling up her Potions' homework.

"Nope, I think I might be scaring everyone off." She ran a hand through her hair. "You know, with the all black and everything." Ginny nodded, before glaring at Draco. He looked at her in confusion, and she jerked her head slightly in Hermione's direction while glaring at him.

"Well I'm done." Ginny sighed, "How about a visit to the kitchens?" There was a murmur of assent as people stood and stretched, moving towards the bookcases. Ginny stepped forward and removed a book from the shelf titled Cooking and You and the bookcase swung open, allowing them access to the kitchen.

"Hermione, can I talk to you for a second?" Draco asked, hanging back from the rest of the group. Hermione turned and walked back to him.

"Sure Draco. What do you want?" Draco smiled at her briefly.

"Do you want to go to the dance with me? I know that we have to make sure everything goes smoothly, but we could dance a little." Hermione smiled at him

"Of course. I was hoping you'd ask." Draco smiled back in relief.

"Did you see Ginny try to "subtly" tell me to ask you to the dance?" Hermione laughed.

"Actually no, but I can imagine. Subtlety is not her strong point. I guess was better go catch up to the others." Draco nodded and both of them walked to the kitchen together.

(So after being dragged to the wedding of some people I don't know, but am vaguely related to, I finally finished typing this. Am I the only person who thinks subtlety is a weird word? Anyway, read and review, this chapter was short, but the next one will be longer, I promise! Anne)


	4. Halloween Dance

(So I decided to put two chapters up at the same time! This chapter is dedicated to Evan, even though I doubt he's going to read this. Read and Review, I think it's really good. Thanks to my BETA: A.N.L, check out her stories!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, song lyrics, etc, etc…. you get the point right? Good.

The month of October went by quickly and soon the night of the Halloween dance was upon them. All the students third year and up were invited. The students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade for costumes to wear though some had written home for them or had ordered them in catalogues. Everyone attending had a date, which might have been a result of the threats Draco and Hermione had made, saying that everyone dateless would be paired up by them. The students crowded in the Entrance Hall, craning their heads to see what the holdup was. Draco and Hermione stood guard at the doors that led to the Great Hall, waiting for everyone to come into the hall.

Hermione, whose bruises were now all healed, wore a Muggle costume of Elektra, the assassin from her favorite movie. In all red, she really stood out from the crowd. Especially because she always wore black. Draco stood next to her wearing a black cape. Hermione had chosen a costume for him at his request, and had picked the phantom from Phantom of the Opera. She had even temporarily dyed his black for the occasion. The effect was only slightly ruined by the fact that he kept complaining about how uncomfortable the mask was. Hermione stood up on a chair and tapped her throat with her wand.

"Sonorus." She muttered before addressing the crowd. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" Her voice, magically magnified, boomed out over the crowd. Everyone fell silent and turned to look at her. "Thank you. As a part of tonight's fun, we have created a haunted house for you. The actual dance will be held outside. To get outside you must first pass through the haunted house. Please form a straight line in front of me with your date beside you. If you do not have a date, we will find you one." There was some hushed muttering as everyone moved to form the line as she had requested. "Please do not go in until Draco or I ask you to. Please keep you wands in your pockets; do not attempt to curse the stuff in our house. Nothing inside there will hurt you; it is merely a result of illusions and spells. Thank you and enjoy your visit." She laughed briefly before stepping down and taking the charm off her voice. "You got the viewing spells ready?" She asked Draco, who nodded, looking down at the mirror he had charmed to follow the different couples through the house.

Hermione let the first couple into the haunted house, reminding them not to curse the things in the house. Hermione leaned over Draco's shoulder and looked at the mirror that displayed the young couple. "Remember," she murmured in his ear, "If they aren't scared enough, you can always move the lever up to increase the scare factor." Draco tugged at a lock of her hair that had fallen forward over his shoulder.

"I know what I'm doing, don't worry." Hermione grinned at him and a shrill scream came from inside the house.

"They went down the elevator?" She asked with a smile.

"No, even better." Draco replied quietly. "She went down and he got left behind." Hermione laughed.

"The next couple may enter."

The next hour went on a lot like that. Hermione recognized most of the students going through, although she had never seen some of them ever before. Harry and Luna came through; Harry dressed as a dragon, Luna as a unicorn. Even Hermione had to admit that they looked really funny. Ron came with a giggling Lavender clinging to his arm; Ron was dressed as a knight in a suit of armor, Lavender as a princess. Hermione "accidentally" bumped the lever on the control panel, and mysteriously enough, it went all the way up to high scare for them. She watched over Draco's shoulder, laughing as both Ron and Lavender screamed. Later in the night, she saw Ginny and Blaise together, Ginny dressed as a vampire, complete with fangs, and Blaise was dressed as a pirate (another one of Hermione's ideas. Honestly, boys were completely clueless when it came to choosing costumes.) Finally everyone had made it through and she and Draco sat alone in the Entrance Hall.

"Would you like me to work the haunted house so that you two may go through?" Hermione turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing behind them.

"Sure Professor, but do you know how to work it?" Dumbledore smiled at them, his blue eyes twinkling madly.

"I'm sure that I'll figure something out." Hermione smiled back at him and turned to Draco, who nodded. She pulled open the large door and both of them walked in. "Remember, no wands please." He said cheerfully as the doors shut. Draco took Hermione's hand as they gazed around at their creation.

"Why do I get the idea that he's going to change things around on us?" Hermione muttered to Draco.

"Because he is." Draco replied. They turned and walked up the cobweb and dust covered stairs in the darkened, silent room. Hermione jumped as the railing on the right side fell to the ground with a resounding crash. "Told you." Draco muttered. Hermione held Draco's hand tightly with her own as they reached the top of the stairs.

When they reached the top of the stairs they heard a screeching sound and a black cat stalked in front of them, hissing angrily. Its eyes glowed red before it turned into a bat and flew at them with other bats. As soon as the bats had flown off haunting organ music filled the room. Hermione looked at Draco.

"When he scares someone, he does it right." She said in awe. Draco smiled briefly, looking around for the elevator that should be right in front of them. There was a loud crack and they fell through the floorboards into a well-lit elevator.

"Leaving floor 100, doom, going to floor 1, death." A way too cheerful voice announced, as the doors slammed closed. Draco and Hermione glanced at the display as the elevator fell at a fast pace. They felt almost weightless as the elevator hurdled downwards. 100…99…98…97…96…95…all the way down to one. There was a crash and Draco and Hermione hit the floor of the elevator. They picked themselves up and walked out into the lower level.

Boom They turned to see flames and sparks flying from the elevator, as apparently it had exploded. Hermione turned her back to the fiery conflagration and screamed as a skeleton fell on top of her. She quickly pushed it away, one hand to her mouth. Draco put his arm around her and jumped as a spider fell down in front of his face. Hermione smiled weakly at that as they walked forward. Directly in front of them was a gigantic spider web, stretching across the hallway. They separated briefly to get around it and both fell forward into a maze of giant mirrors.

Hermione picked herself up from the floor and stared at her reflection in the mirrors. She quickly tucked her hair behind her ears as she contemplated this new challenge. She could not see Draco anywhere, and as she looked around she saw that she wasn't alone. In the mirror she saw a girl wearing a white shirt standing behind her. The girl's shirt was stained crimson with blood; her eyes were dark and hallow. She had dark stringy hair that fell around her face. Hermione spun around to see nothing. She quickly drew the blades that were a part of her costume, but they were real. With one held in each hand, she began walking forward. She heard a quiet laughing and spun around to come face to face with the girl. The girl smiled at her, raising a blood stained knife over her head. Hermione slashed at her, only to meet thin air. There was amused laughter as she spun around looking for the mysterious girl.

Elsewhere in the maze, Draco was wandering around with his arms outstretched in front of him. He wasn't really getting anywhere, and the flashes of red and back cloth at the corners of his vision and reflected in the mirrors weren't helping. He never could catch a glimpse of the wearer, so he dismissed it as part of the haunted house. He was considering just smashing all the mirrors when he heard a scream. Though he had only heard Hermione scream once before, he instinctively knew it was her. Remembering their link, he closed his eyes and concentrated on her and where she was in the maze. He kept his eyes closed as he walked with his arms in front of him. Finally, he heard breathing and opened his eyes to see Hermione sitting on the floor trembling. The knives from her outfit lay next to her as she rocked back and forth. Draco put his hand on her shoulder. She grabbed for her knife, but relaxed when she saw him. She put her knives away and stood. As she stood, the mirrors shifted and they walked out into the night air.

Soft music filled the air as couples danced on the lawn. Tables laden with food stood next to the band.

"Well, it appears that everything is going well." Draco said, looking around at the calm scene. "So I believe that you owe me a dance, my lovely assassin." Hermione smiled at him, recovering from her fright in the haunted house.

"Of course, my dear phantom." Draco took her hand and led her out to the makeshift dance floor. The band was playing requests, both magic and Muggle. Hermione recognized the song as the band began to play. 

Sometimes the snow comes down in June

Sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon

I see the passion in your eyes

Sometimes it's all a big surprise

'Cause there was a time when all I did was wish

You'd tell me this was love

It's not the way I hoped, or how I planned,

But somehow it's enough

Draco pulled Hermione close to him as they swayed with the music. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder as his hands held her close to him. She sighed peacefully, closing her eyes and storing away the memory forever. She felt so safe here in his arms, safer then she had ever felt before. She had danced with other boys before, but it had never felt like this. This was different somehow; she never wanted him to let go, she wanted the song to last forever. This was heavenly.

And now we're standing face to face

Isn't this world a crazy place?

Just when I thought our chance had passed

You go and save the best for last

Draco smiled as he held Hermione close to him. He could feel her breathe, feel every breath against his neck, was aware of each time her chest moved against his. They swayed back and forth together, his hands holding her as close to him as he could. He inhaled and could smell strawberry scent in her hair. This dance shouldn't end; he didn't want to let her go, he didn't want to move away from this angel.

All of the nights you came to me

When some silly girl had set you free

You wondered how you'd make it through

I wondered what was wrong with you

'Cause how could you give your love to someone else

And share your dreams with me?

Sometimes the very thing you're looking for

Is the one thing you can't see.

And now we're standing face to face

Isn't this world a crazy place?

Just when I thought our chance had passed

You go and save the best for last

Sometimes the very thing you're looking for

Is the one thing you can't see.

Sometimes the snow comes down in June

Sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon

Just when I thought our chance had passed

You go and save the best for last

You went and saved the best for last.

The song finally ended, but neither of them moved to pull away. They stood there in each others arms, drinking in the security they felt there. Finally, reluctantly, they each took a step back and stared at each other. Hermione stared into Draco's grey eyes and saw something that she had never expected to find in them. They smiled at each other and Draco hugged Hermione as other students bustled around them.

(Okay, so I lied, it wasn't longer, but still, good right? Thoughts, opinions? Review please! Update soon, I promise! Anne)


	5. A murder, but not a crime

A/N: So I'm really sorry I didn't put this up sooner. I had a nightmare and a half getting the lyrics to the song I needed, then translating part of it, then finding the movie to check dance moves, then my floppy broke and I had to find another. To top that, I started school. I still love you guys, and to prove it, here is my next chapter.

Disclaimer: I'm trying to buy it okay? When I do I will inform you. Until then, I own nothing unless otherwise stated.

"Did you hear that they're going to have a talent show?" Ginny asked, bursting into Hermione and Draco's common room. Hermione smiled at her friend from the couch she was laying on.

"Of course I did, it was my idea. When did they set the date for?" Ginny nodded, sitting down on the couch across from her.

"Two weeks from now, the day before we get off for Christmas break," She grinned at Hermione. "So should we enter?" Hermione smiled back at her.

"I've got a really good idea, but we'll need four more girls for it,"

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Hermione smiled as their group began to form. First the girls from their study group arrived. Ginny arrived with Luna and Millicent Bulstrode in tow. Millicent had joined their group sometime in November, arriving with Blaise. She was a nice girl, though she hid it well with her exterior curtness with people she didn't know very well.

"Parvati agreed to do it, and she's going to get her sister and come here in a second," Hermione smiled.

"Great. I had Dumbledore charm a DVD player and TV for me so that I can show you what I have in mind," At that moment the two girls walked in the room through the still-open portrait hole. "One, two, three, four, five, six," She counted, looking around the room, and smiled. "Okay, let's start," Hermione used her wand to conjure beanbags for everyone to sit. "How many of you have seen the Muggle musical Chicago?" Parvati and Padma raised their hands. Ginny raised her hand, grinning at Hermione, who had dragged her to it. Luna and Millicent stared blankly at her. "Okay, I have a DVD player here to show you my idea for what we should do for the talent show," She turned on the TV.

After a few minutes of watching, the song was over and she switched the TV off. All the girls remained sitting, staring at the TV screen.

"Will the teachers let us do that?" Ginny asked. "I'm not sure the costumes fit the dress code," Hermione laughed.

"I think we'll be okay, seeing as I'm Head Girl and they won't know what we're doing until we perform," Luna was the first to smile.

"Looks like fun," She said cheerfully, "Can I be the Hungarian girl?" Hermione stared at her.

"You speak Hungarian?" Luna nodded.

"I learned it last summer,"

"I've always wanted to know what she said. What does she say?" Luna grinned at her.

"Roughly translated, 'What am I doing here? They say that my lover held my husband down while I cut off his head. But that's not true, I'm innocent! I don't know why Uncle Sam thinks I did it. I tried to explain at the police station, but they couldn't understand me," **1** Hermione smiled at Luna.

"Okay, then I call the first girl," Parvati spoke up. The others chimed in with their choices.

"So it's decided then," Hermione finished with a smile, "Meet tomorrow in here at lunch time. We'll get food from the kitchen and plan in here. The password's Lilly of the valley."

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Draco sat alone at dinner and Hermione was nowhere in sight. He finished dinner quickly and then headed to the common room. He was surprised to find the common room dark except for one corner. Hermione was sitting in front of the TV staring fixatedly at it.

"What is that?" He asked, staring in fascination at the box as he dropped down to sit on a beanbag next to her.

"TV. Muggle invention. I'm watching Phantom of the opera," She said shortly, not taking her eyes off the screen. Draco examined the Phantom in the white mask.

"So that's who my costume was!" He exclaimed, watching the characters on the screen.

"Yeah," Hermione said as she mouthed along with the singing. Draco listened to the TV with vague amusement.

"Can you sing well?" He finally asked, glancing over at her.

"I suppose so, why?" Hermione replied, still not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Because I can sing reasonably well too and I think we could sing something from this for the talent show,"

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The night before the show everyone met in the common room for one final practice. The girls had recruited Tonks, who was more like a friend than a Professor, to act a short part in their number. Hermione and the girls perfected their act and performed it for Draco, who wholeheartedly approved. Draco and Hermione performed their song for the girls, and they all agreed that it was beautiful. Hermione had secured the first spot of the evening for her and the girls' Chicago performance and the last spot for her and Draco.

The curtain opened to a dark stage. Tonks, with a short cut, bright blonde hairstyle, and different features than usual, sashayed up on stage, standing in front of the open curtain. Everyone in the audience sat, waiting for her to do something when whispers could be heard from onstage in the darkened area.

"And now, the six merry murderesses of the Cook county jail in their rendition of the cell block tango," The announcer said as the whispering got louder.

"Pop, Six, Squish, Uh-uh, Cicero, Lipschitz," The stage lights went on as 6 figures moved forward into the light.

"Pop," Parvati said, stepping forward to stand near the center of the stage.

"Six," Her sister Padma stepped forward to stand at her right.

"Squish," Millicent stood on Parvati's left side.

"Uh-uh," Luna shook her head as she moved to Padma's right side.

"Cicero," Hermione breathed, moving to Millicent's right, on the edge of the stage.

"Lipschitz," Ginny finished, taking the other edge of the stage, next to Luna. The dim stage lights got brighter, and they stood in a line, wearing black, low cut and revealing dresses. Some of the boys in the audience began to clap and whistle.

"He had it coming. He had it coming. He only had himself to blame. If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it,"

"I betcha you would have done the same," Hermione announced as the girls repeated their statements. The girls danced seductively, moving their hips with the background music. Parvati stepped forward to the front of the stage and the other lights faded away, leaving just a spotlight on her.

"You know how people have those little habits that get you down? Like Bernie. Bernie liked to chew gum. No, not chew, POP. So I come home this one day and I'm really irritated and looking for a little bit of sympathy and there's Bernie lyin' on the couch, drinking a beer and chewing. No, not chewing, popping. So I said to him, I said, you pop that gum one more time… and he did. So I took the shotgun off the wall and I fired two warning shots," Parvati leaned over and picked up a gun from the stage floor. "Into his head," She pulled the trigger and a flag with the word BANG on it unfurled, along with a red scarf. She tied the scarf around her wrist, and walked back to her spot, gun in hand.

"He had it coming. He had it coming. He only had himself to blame. If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it, I betcha you would have done the same," They all sang as Padma walked forward.

"I met Ezekiel Young from Salt Lake City about two years ago and he told me he was single, and we hit it off right away. So, we started living together. He'd go to work, he'd come home, I'd fix him a drink, and we'd have dinner. And then I found out. Single, he told me, single my ass! Not only was he married, oh no, he had six wives… one of those Mormons, you know. So that night when he came home, I fixed him his drink, as usual," She raised a wineglass that she held at her side. "You know, some guys just can't hold their arsenic," She said thoughtfully as she took a red scarf out of the glass and stepped back.

"He had it coming, he had it coming. He took a flower in its prime. And then he used it, and he abused it. It was a murder but not a crime," Millicent stepped to the center of the stage.

"Now, I'm standing in the kitchen, carving up the chicken for dinner, minding my own business. In storms my husband Wilbur in a jealous rage. "You been screwing the milkman," he says. He was crazy, and he kept on screaming "You been screwing the milkman." And then he ran into my knife," She flicked a carving knife in the air, catching both the knife and the scarf that fluttered into the air. "He ran into my knife ten times."

"If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it. I betcha you would have done the same," They all sang as Luna took center stage.

"Mit kersek, en itt? Azt mondjok, hogy a hires lakem lefogta a ferjemet en meg lecsaptam a fejet. De nem igaz, en artatlan vagyok. Nem tudom mert mondja Uncle Sam hogy en tettem. Probaltam a rendorsegen megmayarazni de nem ertettek meg…"**2** Tonks turned to look at her curiously.

"Yeah, but did you do it?" Luna shook her head frantically.

"Uh-uh, not guilty," She pulled a white scarf out of her pocket. The others were silent as Hermione took the center stage and Luna stepped back to her spot.

"My sister Veronica and I had this double act, and my husband Charlie used to travel around with us. Now, for the last number in our act we did these 20 acrobatic tricks in a row. One, two, three, four, five, splits, spread eagles, back flips, flip-flops, one right after the other. So this one night before the show, we're down at the Hotel Cicero, the three of us boozing, having a few laughs, and we run out of ice, so I go out to get some. I come back, open the door, and there's Veronica and Charlie doing number 17, the spread eagle," Hermione slid down into a split. "Well, I was in such a state of shock, I completely blacked out, I can't remember a thing. It wasn't until later, when I was washing the blood off my hands I even knew they were dead," She opened her hands, which had been clenched in fists, showing two red scarves. She stood up, tossing her hair back. "They had it coming," She sang

"They had it coming," The others echoed after her.

"They had it coming,"

"They had it coming,"

"I didn't do it,"

"She didn't do it,"

"But if I'd done it,"

"But if she'd done it,"

"How could you tell me that I was wrong?" Hermione asked, with her hands in the air. She stepped back and Ginny took her place with a wistful smile.

"I loved Al Lipschitz more than I could possibly say. He was a real artistic guy…sensitive… a painter. But he was always trying to find himself. He'd go out every night looking for himself, and on the way he found Ruth, Gladys, Rosemary, and Irving. I guess you can say we broke up because of artistic differences," She waved a paintbrush through the air. "He saw himself as alive, and I saw him dead," A red scarf flowed through the air from the paintbrush.

"They had it coming. They had it coming. They had it coming all along. Cause if they used us, and they abused us, how could you tell us we were wrong?" All the girls moved to the front of the stage. "He had it coming, he had it coming. He only had himself to blame. If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it, I betcha you would have done the same," All the lights faded away except for six spotlights, one on each girl.

"You pop that gum one more time," Parvati warned, gun over her shoulder.

"Single, my ass," Padma laughed, toasting with her wineglass.

"Ten times!" Millicent exclaimed, tossing the knife in the air.

"Miert csukott Uncle Sam bortonbe," Luna whispered, her hand at a cross necklace around her neck.

"Number seventeen, the spread eagle," Hermione hissed, sliding into the splits on the floor.

"Artistic differences," Ginny finished, tucking the paintbrush behind her ear.

"Pop." Parvati's spotlight went out.

"Six." Parvati said, waving 6 fingers at the audience before her spotlight went out.

"Squish." Millicent said with a wink as her light went out too.

"Uh-uh!" Luna protested as her light went out.

"Cicero." Hermione breathed, her light went out.

"Lipschitz." Ginny finished, and the whole stage was dark. Everyone broke into applause as the lights went back on and the came to bow. The six girls held hands as they bowed together. They hugged each other, relieved that everything had gone smoothly. The teachers seemed to not mind the breakage of school rules as the students were beginning to form a real bond, not caring about what house they were in.

**1 **Okay, I got this translation from someone online, I'm not sure if it is correct.

**2** Again, I don't speak Hungarian. I got this online, sorry if it's spelled wrong.

A/N: More of the talent show will be coming soon. Reviews will help speed the process. Thanks go to my BETA: A.N.L Anne


	6. Unable to stay, Unwilling to leave

A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to write this but I'm back at school and trying to adjust to everything here. A lot of stuff has happened, but I promise I'll try to update faster.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, except for the poem.

Draco looked around anxiously. He and Hermione were up next and he couldn't find her. He went around backstage searching for her. When he finally found her, she was sitting in a corner, hunched over, a piece of paper clutched in her trembling hand.

"Hermione?" She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide and filled with fear. "What is it?" Her hand shook as she gave him the paper. He took it and looked down, his eyes skimming the crumpled letter.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I am looking forward to seeing you over the holidays._

_Your little sister would also like to say hello. Yes, she_

_will be staying here for Christmas. I will pick you up _

_at the train station tomorrow._

_Signed,_

_Your father._

Draco looked up at her.

"I have to go," She said, voice wavering, "He'll kill her if I don't." Draco nodded.

"I'll be right back." Draco murmured, slipping offstage and walking to the announcer. He stood in quiet conversation with him for a minute, and then walked back to Hermione. "I told him we wouldn't be performing. Let's go to the common room to talk more privately." Hermione nodded and slowly rose to her feet. She was shaking so badly that Draco was afraid she would fall over. He put his arm around her waist to keep her up. She leaned against him as they walked down the hallway. "Paradise." Draco said to the portrait, and it swung open. He helped Hermione to the couch, where she sat silently, looking at the letter in her hands.

"I don't want to go, but I have to."' Hermione finally said. Draco sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She dropped the letter on the floor and started crying.

"Everything's going to turn out okay, you'll see." He whispered, rubbing her back. She buried her face in his chest. "I have something for you," He said, stroking her hair. She sniffed, rubbing her cheeks with the back of her hand. Draco reached into a pocket of his robe. "I had meant for it to be a Christmas gift, but I think you need it more now." He pulled out a small box and gave it to her. Hermione opened the box with a small smile. Inside the box lay a golden locket on a slender gold chain.

"It's beautiful." She breathed. Draco smiled.

"The chain is unbreakable and can only be unfastened by you." Hermione took the necklace out and opened the locket. Inside there was a small picture of Draco and the other side was empty. "If there is an emergency while you're home for the break, press the tip of your finger against the empty side and say my name. I'll know, and no matter what, I'll come find you." Hermione smiled at him. "Do you like it?" He asked, a bit shyly. Her smile widened.

"I love it," She replied, flinging her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much!" She clasped the necklace around her neck. "But I hope I won't need it."

"Me too." Draco replied, as Hermione stretched out on the couch. She laid next to a lounging Draco, resting her head on his chest. He began stroking her hair gently as she yawned. "Write me often, okay Hermione?" She didn't respond. "Hermione?" He looked down at her and saw her eyes closed. Draco smiled and waved his wand at the candles that lit the room, dimming them, and summoning a blanket, gently tucking it in around them.

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Hermione awoke in the morning to the sound of rain hitting the roof. She opened her eyes slowly, and was slightly surprised to find herself in the common room. She looked next to her and smiled as her eyes met Draco's face. He looked so much more relaxed in sleep than he ever was during the day. She turned over so she was facing him, and his arm tightened around her waist.

"Draco," She whispered softly, "Wake up." She began brushing his hair away from his face.

"What time is it?" He finally muttered, his eyes still closed.

"Time for me to get ready to go." He eyes snapped open

"I'll walk you to the station." Hermione smiled gratefully, standing up and stretching. She looked down at her clothes with a small smirk.

"Look, I don't even have to get dressed." Draco laughed softly, but could hear the undertones of worry in her voice.

"It's going to be okay," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her. Hermione gave him a small, forced smile. "Get your stuff, you're going to be late."

Ten minutes later, they were standing on the train platform in Hogsmeade in the pouring rain.

"Remember, if you need anything, you know how to get a hold of me," Draco said, handing Hermione her bag. Hermione smiled sadly and looked at her watch. Suddenly, she threw her arms around Draco and brought her lips to his in a quick kiss.

"In case I don't come back." She said, turning and getting on the train. Draco watched the train pull out of the station, as the rain poured down around him, and all he could think of was the feel of her lips against his.

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"My-oh-nee." Hermione awoke to a small figure shaking her awake. She slowly opened her eyes to see her little sister, who was kneeling on her bed. "Get up!" Anna shrieked. "It's Christmas!" Hermione smiled as she sat up slowly, trying to ignore the pain she felt. She had dragged herself out of bed at midnight to put presents underneath the tree for her little sister.

"Okay, I'm up, I'm up!" Hermione exclaimed with a smile as Anna dragged her out of the room and down the stairs. Hermione watched with a smile as Anna opened her presents, exclaiming over each one. The last one she opened was a baby doll. Anna squealed in joy, hugging the doll close to her as she jumped onto Hermione's lap.

"Gonna name it after you." She announced solemnly, much to Hermione's amusement.

"Dolls." A scornful voice interrupted their celebration. "She doesn't need dolls." Hermione slid Anna off her lap, taking a defensive position in front of the girl.

"She is just a child, father, let her have her dolls." Hermione turned to the small girl behind her. "Go upstairs to your room, now." Anna obeyed with a timid nod. Hermione shifted, keeping her body between Anna and her father.

"I am her father, I decide what's best for her." he slurred angrily, towering over Hermione.

"You haven't been her father since you started drinking all the time. She needs support and love right now, and I can't trust you with her. I'm leaving and I'm taking her with me." Hermione turned away from him to the stairs.

"You won't tell me what to do." He thundered, sending tremors down her spine.

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Back at Hogwarts, Draco sat alone in his room, trying to read a book, but found he was too distracted by his worry over Hermione. He jumped as the bracelet he wore grew warm and vibrated on his arm.

"Hermione." He breathed, jumping up from his bed. He threw his cloak on over his pajamas before running out of the room. He ran first to the Slytherin common to find Blaise. "It's Hermione, she's in trouble." The boy was on his feet and racing after him as he headed towards the Gryffindor common room. He halted in front of the portrait. "I don't know the password, but I have to get in." He said, breathing hard from running.

"It's Golden Snitches," Blaise interrupted him, and the portrait swung open.

"Do I even want to know why you know that?" Draco asked as he stepped into the common room. Blaise laughed dryly. "Harry!" The black haired boy looked up from his seat near the fire. "Hermione's in trouble, come with me." Harry stood and followed Draco as he and Blaise raced through the castle, down the stairs, and out across the lawn.

"Is it her father?" Harry asked as they burst through the gates to the grounds.

"I don't know, I just know that she's in trouble." Draco looked at the other two. "You both learned apparating with our study group, right?" They nodded. "Good, meet me at her house."

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_A paradise lost,_

_A paradise gained._

_A life thrown away _

_For the sake of a game,_

_This little game called life,_

_She gave herself as sacrifice._

_To save another_

_She let her life wither away._

_To protect a sister_

_She took the pain that one must pay._

_To help a family_

_She put herself in harm's way._

_The night her dad beat her mom to death_

_She didn't stray from in front of her sister,_

_Her little, innocent sister._

_The police were coming, but not fast enough._

_She knew she was dying, but couldn't give up._

_She stood there like a pillar, blocking the way_

_To the room where her sister played,_

_Unaware of what happened outside._

_When the cops got there, she still stood,_

_Still as a stone in the way._

_Her daddy rained blows on her, she was cut and bleeding_

_But still she didn't move, even as they took him away._

_Finally, they say, she walked to the cradle, kissed the baby once,_

_Then sank to the floor, crumpling like a rag doll._

_By then it was too late for her, _

_She would never enjoy freedom._

_But for her death, neither would her sister have._

_One paradise lost, _

_Another gained._

_A life given to save another,_

_The greatest gift she could give._

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Flashback

Hermione stumbled backwards, using her body as a block between her father and her sister. Her hand went to her stomach, which was stained with blood.

"This is why... I don't trust you with Anna." She spat, standing steady in the face of her father's fury. He growled, slicing at her with the knife he held in his hand. "Mother would be ashamed of you if she was alive." He faltered for a second, and then drew himself back up to his full height.

"Never mention her again!" He flung his hand forward, burying the knife in her side. She fell to the floor, gasping for air, one hand clutching her side. With the other hand she fumbled with the locket around her neck. It popped open and she pressed her blood-covered finger to the empty side.

"Draco." She whispered, before losing consciousness.

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A/N: Do not fear, I do not believe I will kill off any main characters at this point. The poem was just added because I felt it fit the situation. Review please, flames welcome, but please don't yell at me for killing her because **SHE'S NOT DEAD YET!**


	7. A promise kept

A/N: I am so happy. Today alone, I have already gotten 9 reviews. This is awesome, and has also inspired me to write faster.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, wish I did

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"Hermione?" Draco opened the now-unlocked door to her house. He held his wand out in front of him as he looked at the mess in the room. "Spread out, find her. Blaise, try to find her little sister, her name's Anna." The three walked into the house, wands drawn. Draco took in the details of the room in horror, from the broken chair at the foot of the tall Christmas tree, to the splatters of blood around the room. The blood was everywhere. Her blood. He finally came to the wall near the foot of the stairs. A handprint was etched in blood on the wall, like someone had tried to steady themselves, using the wall as support. He turned the corner, then gasped, running up the steps. Halfway up the stairs, on a landing, lay Hermione, her hand at a knife in her side. He knelt next to her, a hand at her neck, desperately searching for a pulse. Finding one, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Harry, Blaise, I've got her!" Hermione's brown eyes fluttered open.

"Draco?" She asked weakly, "Oh, thank God. I knew you'd come." Draco smiled at her.

"I promised I would." Her eyes were looking at something behind him as they widened in fear.

"Look out!" She screamed, shoving him away from her. A knife embedded itself in the floor where he had been, only moments before. He turned around to see a tall brown-haired man standing over him with anger in his eyes.

"Trespassing, eh?" The man spat angrily. He removed the knife from the floor and raised it over Draco."

"Stupefy!" Draco shouted. The man fell backwards down the steps as Harry and Blaise appeared around the corner.

"Get Anna, she's upstairs." Hermione whispered, before she began coughing. Her body shook with every cough. Draco nodded at Blaise as he moved to hold Hermione. Blaise disappeared up the stairs as Draco supported Hermione's frail body.

"Harry, when he gets back, try to keep the child occupied. I'll apparate with Hermione, Blaise and you take Anna. Apparate to the edge of Hogwarts and run ahead for help." Harry nodded.

"What should I tell them?" Harry asked.

"The truth. I can't tell them anything because Hermione and I made a blood oath." Harry gave him a strange look, but nodded again. Blaise came downstairs with Anna in his arms.

"She's fine," He informed Draco, upon his questioning look. "I found her asleep under the bed." He informed them quietly. Draco smiled in relief.

"Okay, you and Harry go back, I'll apparate after you. One of you run ahead for Madame Pomfrey." They nodded, and apparated. Draco scooped Hermione up in his arms, trying not to hurt her. He apparated to the gates of Hogwarts, and could see Harry running into the castle. Blaise stood just inside the grounds waiting for him, a still-asleep Anna in his arms.

"You need any help carrying her?" Blaise asked as they walked towards the castle. Draco shook his head with a frown.

"No, she's light. Too light." He looked down at her sadly, but with tenderness in his eyes.

"I never thought I'd see the day." Draco looked over at Blaise curiously. "The day you fell in love." Draco smiled and opened his mouth to respond, but fell silent as the doors to the castle opened and Harry ran out, followed by a few professors and Madame Pomfrey.

"You and your friends are always crossing lined, you have no thoughts for danger, or ever think to warn a teacher." Snape was snapping at Harry, who appeared to be ignoring him.

"Don't yell at him, it was my idea to go to her house." Draco interrupted his tirade "And if we hadn't gone, she could have died." He gently passed Hermione to Madame Pomfrey.

"You?" Snape asked in shock. "But how did you know to go, and why would you?" Draco looked away.

"I can't tell you." Snape frowned at him.

"No matter what promises you made to her, whatever secrets you are trying to hide, we need to know. I will force it out of you if I have to." Draco's temper, which he had been keeping a control on all evening, snapped. He glowered right back at Snape.

"Then you would see me killed!" He shouted at him. "You speak of promises, of petty secrets that, even if that was all this is, I would keep to her. I owe her that much. She saved my life tonight; I owe her a life debt, not mention the blood oath I made with her. I cannot, and will not tell you anything!" Snape took a step back in surprise, as the other Professors around them gasped. Draco turned and stalked off, a move that would have been more intimidating were he not wearing his pajamas under his cloak. Draco walked briskly towards the Hospital Wing. He found Blaise sitting on a chair with Anna on his lap. Blaise had left earlier, before his fight with Snape, with Madame Pomfrey. "I'll take her." He reached his arms out for the little girl with brown ringlets. She glared at him suspiciously."

"Who are you?" She asked, clutching a baby doll to her chest.

"I'm Draco. I'm a good friend of your older sister Hermione. You must be Anna. Hermione talks about you a lot." Anna nodded. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Daddy was mad at My-oh-nee because she give me a dolly for Christmas. Lots of yelling, he really mad." She started to cry. Draco picked her up and put her in his lap.

"It's okay, you're safe here." She sobbed into his shirt.

"Want Mione." Draco sighed and looked up at Blaise, who shrugged.

"Mione isn't feeling well right now, Madame Pomfrey is taking care of her. I'll take you to see her as soon as I can. I'll go check on her now, if you'll stay with Blaise." Anna sniffled, but nodded. Draco put her down gently on the ground and walked back towards the beds in the room. He saw Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall huddled around a bed.

"Still unconscious...lost a lot of blood..." He listened to a bit of their conversation before coming forward.

"How is she?" He asked, looking down at Hermione's pale face.

"She'll be fine, but you shouldn't be here." Madame Pomfrey tried to shoo him off. He gave her a dark glare.

"I'm not going anywhere." He took a seat next to the head of her bed. Draco tucked Hermione's hair behind her ears as he looked at her in worry. Her eyes were closed, and her face deathly white. The locket he had given her still hung around her neck. The arm he could see was covered in bruises and cuts. He gently took her hand in his, running his hand over her knuckles.

"Now isn't that just the sweetest thing you've ever seen?" Professor McGonagall sighed happily to Madame Pomfrey, who smiled.

"Nothing quite beats young love. I am happy to see them overcome their House differences to end up together." She replied quietly. "It reminds me of another young couple I remember." Her eyes turned to Minerva, who blushed.

"That was quite a while ago. We broke up a long time ago too. I'm sure by now he's over me." Madame Pomfrey laughed softly.

"I doubt it Min. I've seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one's looking. He loves you yet." Minerva opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Draco's voice.

"Madame Pomfrey?" She looked over at him. "Her little sister really wants to see her, may I bring her back her, just for a little while?" Slowly she nodded.

"Only for 5 minutes, I know she must be worried about her big sister." Draco nodded and let go of Hermione's hand. He walked back to Anna.

"I'm going to take you to see Hermione, but you have to be quiet because she's sleeping." Anna nodded solemnly, then stood up and took Draco's hand, clutching her doll in her other hand. He led her to Hermione's bed. She peered over the edge of the bed at her older sister. She glanced back at him, and then pulled herself up on the chair next to the bed. She carefully slid into the bed ext to her sister. Draco watched as Anna laid her doll down on top of Hermione's chest.

"So she's not alone." She informed Draco, sliding off the bed. Draco smiled at her and held out his hand.

"I'm going to take you to meet the Headmaster, I think he'll like you." She nodded and looked up at him.

"I want a horsey ride!" Draco sighed, but kneeled down and let her climb onto his back.

"Hold on tight okay?" She laughed at him

"Go!" Draco smiled and stood, walking out of the Hospital Wing and down the hallway. "Faster!" She yelled, holding tight to his neck. Draco ran down the hallway, finally stopping in front of Dumbledore's office.

"Help me think of types of candy." He said to Anna, before trying. "Lemon drop, Chocolate frog, Cockroach cluster..."

"Lollipop!" Anna added from his back. The gargoyle slid aside and Anna beamed with pride as Draco walked up the stairs...

A/N: Well, that's all for now folks. Review please!


	8. Empty Spaces

A/N: I was so happy with all the pretty reviews I got! They made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I am sorry, because I meant to get this up sooner, but then I got sick and forgot. A thousand apologies.

Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter Universe, why on earth would I be writing fanfics about it?

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Draco walked slowly up the staircase that led to the Headmaster's office. Finally, he reached the door of his office at the top of the stairs and knocked.

"Come in," the gentle voice of the Headmaster came from inside. Draco opened the door and walked in, setting Anna on the floor.

"Don't touch anything please," Draco whispered to her, glancing around at all the fragile objects in the room. Dumbledore laughed softly, overhearing.

"It's alright, I have too many little knick-knacks anyway," he stood and looked down at Anna. "So this is the girl, Miss Granger's sister?" Draco nodded.

"I realize this is going to sound…highly unusual, but I would like to ask your permission to have her stay here and let me take care of her," Professor Dumbledore looked down at him through his half-moon glasses.

"And you do not wish for her to go back to her parents?" Draco frowned angrily, knowing that he had to know by now how horrible her father was.

"I will not send her back to that monster that is her father. You know what will happen if we send her home, and I will not be responsible for that. I will take her and Hermione both and move to some uncharted country before sending them back. He… he…" Draco broke off as his hand began to throb. "I wish I could tell you more, but I can't, because I made a blood oath with Hermione," Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.

"And I expect she keeps the secret of your own torment," Draco's head snapped up and he stared at the old man. "Yes, I know about that." Behind Draco there was a crash and he turned to see Anna standing over the pieces of a vase. Dumbledore laughed, and Draco turned back around to face him. "I never liked that vase much," Draco smiled briefly before talking again.

"Well, if you know about my father abusing me, you should also know that I am no longer a part of that family, no longer a Malfoy. I will not hurt Hermione or her sister, nor will I let anyone else hurt them."

"And you wish to adopt Anna?" Draco turned to look at the small girl playing on the floor.

"If that will keep her safe, yes I will adopt her," Anna stood and walked to the perch where Fawkes sat. "Is there any way to remove a blood oath? I mean, now we know that we can trust each other not to tell. The only way to keep her safe is to keep her away from her father, and that means that Anna will have to be removed from his custody. That means we have to take him to trial, and if this comes to trial Hermione will need all the witnesses and support that she can get." Professor Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.

"The blood oath can be removed by pricking fingers and mixing your blood, saying that you release the other from the blood oath," Draco smiled, but then it faltered slightly.

"And Anna? May I have permission to keep her here with me and Hermione?" Dumbledore rested his chin on his hands.

"I think that will be fine. I will notify the teachers, none of them should have a problem with it as long as she behaves and doesn't disrupt class. The only class I would question bringing her into is your potions class. Heaven knows enough disasters can happen in that class. Perhaps during that class you could get Miss Weasley to watch her," Draco smiled in relief and turned around to Anna.

"Do you hear that? You can stay here with me and Hermione," Anna smiled at him, and then went back to gently petting Fawkes. Draco watched as she stroked the Phoenix without fear of its talons or beak.

"To be that young again," Dumbledore sighed with a smile, watching the little girl.

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It was well past nine in the evening when Draco finally got Anna into bed. He had taken her on a tour of the castle and introduced her to the professors. She had not seemed surprised by anything she had seen, even though he doubted she had ever seen ghosts, or moving suits of armor before. Finally, he had put her to bed in Hermione's room before collapsing on the couch in the common room, staring into the fire. It had been a very long and trying day, and he was glad to have a few minutes to stop and relax.

"Mister Malfoy!" A sharp voice cut into the haze of exhaustion that surrounded him. His eyes snapped open to meet the worried face of Professor McGonagall. "Hermione's awake, but she's panicking and we can't calm her down." Draco jumped to his feet.

"Get someone to stay here with Anna, I don't want her to wake up and have no one be here," he snapped, rushing out of the portrait. As soon as his feet hit the tiled floor of the hallway, he broke into a sprint, heading for the Hospital Wing. He slowed to a walk outside the door, opening the door quickly and taking long strides into the room. Hermione was standing across the room, staring at him, her hair in disarray.

"Let me out!" She bolted past him to the door, which had shut behind him. She pulled hard on the handle, which would not turn.

"Hermione," Draco stepped to her side, gently putting his hand on her shoulder. She turned slowly to stare at him. "'Mione, your sister Anna is okay. She's safe here and you can see her later, but you need to calm down." She stared at him for a second, then her hand went to the locket around her neck.

"Oh Draco!" She collapsed in tears into his arms. Draco gently rubbed her back, holding her to him. He looked over her head to see Madame Pomfrey sighing in relief. Hermione finally stopped crying and just rested her head on his chest. "I want out of here, can I please leave?" Draco looked at Madame Pomfrey, who frowned and pursed her lips. He raised an eyebrow at her.

" I would really like to keep her here overnight for observation. She has many injuries that are still healing. If all goes well I will let her out tomorrow," Hermione sobbed softly into Draco's shirt.

"Listen," he whispered quietly, stroking her hair. "If Madame Pomfrey says I can, I'll stay the night with you." Hermione looked up at the nurse hopefully. Madame Pomfrey nodded slowly, gesturing towards the bed next to Hermione's.

"If anything happens, I'll be in my room." Draco nodded and helped Hermione back to her bed. She sat down atop the white sheets slowly, motioning for him to sit down next to her.

"I've been thinking," Draco started quietly, "that we should cancel the blood oath." Hermione stared at him for a second.

"Okay, but why?" Draco sighed and took her small hand in his.

"I won't let you and your sister go back to that monster. I want you to take him to court to gain custody of Anna, and I want to be able to support you and back up your statements," Hermione stared at their joined hands, then up at Draco's face.

"But I don't ever want to see him again," she said in a small voice, almost like a child.

"I promise I'll be with you, I won't let him hurt you again. Just, please, let me help you fight this."

"Fine," she sighed with a nod. "How do we cancel this thing?" Draco let go of her hand and reached into his robe pocket. He pulled out his silver dagger and held it out to Hermione.

"Prick your finger, but just enough to draw blood," he instructed. Hermione quickly complied, then handed the knife to him. Draco pricked his own finger, then pressed his finger to hers. "I, Draco Malfoy-Black, release Hermione Granger from the blood oath." Hermione looked into his eyes and softly said.

"I, Hermione Granger, release Draco Malfoy-Black from the blood oath." She felt a tingling spreading down her arm as her vision became blurry and the whole world slowly went dark.

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A/N: If you all promise to review I promise I'll write more, because I am trying to get more reviews than my best friend does, and so far, we're tied. I don't want to lose, so drop a review, even if it only says hello. Anne


	9. An interesting proposition

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. I had a very severe case of writer's block, but now my muse has returned.

"What is it with us and blood oaths?" Draco asked with a groan as he slowly sat up. Hermione giggled, looking up at him.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing that it has to do with the unbreakable magical bond thing. I don't know about you, but if I ever have to do this again, I'll probably have this fear that it will end up like this and not want to do it." Draco laughed.

"Irrational fear of blood oaths. I never heard that one before." Hermione laughed with him for a few seconds.

"Well, does that mean we get to invent a word for it?" Hermione asked with a smile, putting her head in Draco's lap.

"I do believe it does, and I think that as the honorary sufferer from it, you should invent the word," he said with a smile, brushing her hair away from her face.

"Bloodoathaphobia," she muttered, her eyes closed. Draco snorted.

"That was creative," he remarked dryly. Hermione opened her eyes and glared up at him, then rolled her eyes and closed them again.

"You come up with one then, Mr. Creativity."

"Sanguinaphobia," he replied, sticking out his tongue. Hermione smiled briefly at him before stifling a yawn. "I think it is time for you to go to sleep," Draco said, looking down at her with a soft smile. "Hermione?" She didn't stir, however, as she was already asleep. Draco slid out from under her and gently pulled her head up to the pillow. Hermione stirred slightly, rolling towards him. Draco smiled and slid into bed next to her, putting his arm over her. Hermione snuggled against him, her face resting on his chest. "Goodnight Princess," he whispered, before he too fell asleep.

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"Hermione?" Hermione awoke with a start, looking up to see who had spoken. She glanced around, noticing that she had fallen asleep on Draco again. "Well you two look cozy," Ginny teased with a smile.

"Ginny! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, looking up at the red-haired girl.

"Harry and Blaise both wrote to say you were hurt. I came as soon as I could," Hermione lifted her head off of Draco's chest.

"And Ron?"

"Is right here," Ron interrupted, stepping forward from behind Ginny. He moved to Hermione's side. "I'm so sorry 'Mione, I've been such an idiot," Hermione nodded slightly, "And I really want to apologize for it. I just couldn't see how he could like you for yourself; I never thought he really liked you. I just didn't want you to get hurt." Draco's arm tightened slightly around Hermione's waist. "But Harry said that you were hurt and that Mal-Draco had saved your life, I realized how stupid I had been."

"I might be able to forgive you if next time something like this happens, you get to know the person before you judge them." Ron nodded in relief, and then Ginny broke in.

"Oh, and Ron, you should probably know that I am dating Blaise."

"What?" Ron shrieked, before fainting. Ginny and Hermione laughed together.

"I guess it was just too much for the poor boy," Ginny sighed, "Oh well. What happened? Harry said that it was your place to tell us."

"Well it all started when I went home for the summer…" Ron had awoken and was listening too as Hermione told them the whole story. Draco, who, true Slytherin that he was, had been awake the entire time, sat up and held Hermione to him, cradling and comforting her when she cried. By the end of her tale, both red heads were irate.

"He's never going to touch you again," Ginny declared, hugging Hermione.

"And if he does, we'll kill him," Ron added. Hermione smiled at them gratefully.

"Ginny, what are the laws in the Wizarding world concerning adoption?" Hermione asked, thinking of her sister Anna.

"Well, you have to be at least seventeen years of age, or be married to someone over seventeen years of age, you have to prove that you can provide for and take care of the child…" Ginny paused, thinking.

"And, in this case, you have to prove that the original parent is not suitable or unable to raise the child," Draco added.

"Take a good look at my back, I think we've got that covered," Hermione muttered, "And I'm over seventeen, eighteen with the extra year from the Time Turner. I haven't got much money, but I have enough to get by, and I can get a job to help support her."

"Don't be ridiculous," Draco interrupted her, "I have my own account that cannot be touched by my father, and my mother, though she wasn't strong enough to stop my father, still loves me and is sending me money," he looked at Hermione, "Money is not a problem."

"Are you sure?" she asked, shocked, "I mean, it is your money." Draco smiled at her affectionately.

"And I can't think of a better thing to spend it on. I love you Hermione, so yes, I'm sure," Ginny smiled at the couple.

"You two are so cute together. I want to meet your sister. Her name is Anna, correct?" Hermione nodded.

"She's in Hermione's room, I think one of the staff members is keeping an eye on her," Draco said, looking up as the door opened and Snape swept into the room.

"I think I might have something that belongs to you," he said dryly, placing Anna down on the floor. She giggled and clung to his arm.

"Thank you for watching her, Professor," Hermione said, smiling at the strict Professor.

"Bye bye Professor," Anna said, giving him a hug. Snape blushed slightly, then pushed her towards Hermione.

"I will see you again, child," he swept out the door, leaving a shocked group of students behind him.

"Well…that was…odd," Ginny said finally. Everyone nodded, except Draco, who smiled.

"You all think of him as the snarky bastard that you see in Potions Class. I know him as the man who is my Godfather, who I played with as a kid."

"He's your Godfather! No wonder he is so nice to you in class!" Ron exclaimed. Draco chuckled.

"Sure, he's nice to me in class, but when I have private lessons with him, he's harsher on me than he ever is on you.erHhhHHasdfkjhsd h

"Mione!" Anna squealed, jumping up onto the bed. She threw herself into Hermione's arms.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, looking her over carefully. Anna nodded, her face buried in the front of Hermione's robes.

"I don't wanna go home, please?" She looked up at Hermione pleadingly, tears starting to make their way down her face.

"How would you like me to adopt you? I'll never take the place of our true mother, but at least you will never have to go home to him again." Hermione asked, looking down at her sister and gently wiping the tears from her face. Anna nodded emphatically, pressing her face against Hermione and hugging her tightly.

"I was going to wait to do this, but I guess now is the right time," Draco said, standing, then kneeling in front of Hermione. "Hermione Granger, I have known you for a long time, but only recently realized that I love you. I want to spend forever with you by my side. Will you do me the great honor of marrying me?" He took a box out of his robe pocket and held out a beautiful diamond ring with ruby insets. Ginny and Hermione both gasped in unison, staring at the beautiful ring.

"I like him, he's fun!" Anna exclaimed.

"And how would you feel if I married him?" Anna smiled and clapped her hands. Hermione smiled and looked at Draco's anxious face.

"Then of course I will," she replied, smiling as Draco slipped the ring on her finger.

A/N: Sorry it is so short. Next chapter will be LONG, and the trial we have all been waiting for will take place.


End file.
